17 Chinese tourists injured in Phuket bus accident
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 26 July, 2015, 8:26pm
UPDATED : Sunday, 26 July, 2015, 10:57pm
Mainland Chinese tourists are lead away to safety after their bus overturned in Phuket. Seventeen tourists were treated for minor injuries, while one is in a serious condition. Photo: Phuketwan
Seventeen Chinese tourists were injured after their tour bus overturned in south Thailand’s Phuket province on Sunday, China’s consular office in Phuket said.
The accident occurred about noon local time on the Bypass Road, opposite the Phuket Outlet retail mall. One tourist is in a serious condition, the consular office said.
All the injured were rushed to a hospital, the office said, citing local police. No deaths were reported and police were investigating the cause of the accident.
Phuket has notoriously lax road and sea safety standards.
In March, a tour bus carrying Chinese tourists plunged off a road on the popular Thai resort island of Phuket, killing three and injuring 16. The bus was travelling downhill, lost control and fell into an embankment in Chalong district.
In October last year, a tourist boat carrying 34 passengers from Phi Phi island crashed into a fishing vessel on its way to Phuket. Some of the tourists, who were mostly Chinese, suffered broken bones and internal injuries
Phuket is a popular holiday destination for mainland Chinese. On any given day, 5,000 to 6,000 of them pass through Phuket International, accounting for more than a quarter of the total number.
Xinhua, Associated Press
