IP addresses are NOT logged in this forum so there's no point asking. Please note that this forum is full of homophobes, racists, lunatics, schizophrenics & absolute nut jobs with a smattering of geniuses, Chinese chauvinists, Moderate Muslims and last but not least a couple of "know-it-alls" constantly sprouting their dubious wisdom. If you believe that content generated by unsavory characters might cause you offense PLEASE LEAVE NOW! Sammyboy Admin and Staff are not responsible for your hurt feelings should you choose to read any of the content here. The OTHER forum is HERE so please stop asking.
Injured Malaysian tourists wait for medical treatment after their tourist bus crashed near Chiang Mai. Photo: EPA
At least 13 people including ethnic Chinese Malaysian tourists were killed Sunday when a bus plunged off a road in Thailand, a country with some of the world’s most dangerous highways.
Investigators said the accident happened shortly after midday in Doi Saket district 30 kilometres from the northern city of Chiang Mai.
“There are now 13 dead, eight females, five males,” an officer at Doi Saket police station said, asking not to be named.
He added that the victims were both “Chinese Malaysian and Thai” but could not give a breakdown as investigations were continuing.
Thai rescue workers remove bodies from the wreckage of a tourist bus that crashed on a mountain roadside. Photo: EPA
Police had earlier said they believed the victims were Chinese nationals.
Xinhua said no Chinese nationals are believed to have died in the smash, quoting the Chinese consulate-general in Chiang Mai.
Calls to the Malaysian embassy in Bangkok went unanswered.
Multiple images posted online by local news outlets showed a horrific scene as rescuers battled to reach those trapped inside the smashed bus, which had come to rest in thick foliage with its roof caved in.
Rescuers cover dead bodies in white sheets at the crash site. Photo: Xinhua
Some of those still inside had suffered horrific injuries. In one picture seven pieces of white sheeting had been draped to cover either bodies or body parts.
Deadly road accidents are common in Thailand.
In a 2015 study on global road safety the World Health Organisation found Thailand had the world’s second most dangerous roads with 36.2 fatalities per 100,000 people.
The WHO said the number of official reported road deaths a year in Thailand for 2012, the latest year figures are available for, was 14,059.
But they added that their modelling suggested the true figure is actually closer to 24,000 dead a year.
Tourism is a mainstay of Thailand’s otherwise fragile economy, accounting for around 10 per cent of GDP, and the December to February period is peak season.
Over a dozen Malaysians killed in bus crash in Chiang Mai
THE NATION December 21, 2015 1:00 am
AT least 14 Malaysian tourists were killed and many others injured at 11.30am yesterday when their coach hit a power pole and ran off a mountainous road in Chiang Mai’s Doi Saket district.
Police said the bus was running on national highway No 118 through Ban Pang Fan village between Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces in the North when the driver lost control at the 43th kilometre marker.
Of the 21 Malaysian passengers on the bus, 11 died at the scene. Three were pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital and two were in a serious condition as of press time last night.
Besides the Malaysians, the bus operated by Weerapan Tour was carrying three other passengers, a tour guide, a bus conductor and the driver, identified as Somporn Bualuang, 58, police said.
Rescue worker Uthai Pollaharn said the bus was fleeing after colliding with a car in the Danmae Kajan area of Chiang Rai. The driver of the car, Krissana Fongdawirat, was not hurt, so he chased after the bus and alerted police only to find that it had crashed.
When the bus arrived at the area, it hit another car before skidding off the road, rammed the pole and slammed into a big rock and trees.
Bus cut open to get to injured
Police found the bus was severely damaged. Rescue workers used tools and equipment to cut parts of the vehicle to get to the dead and injured victims.
The damage was estimated at about Bt8 million.
The Malaysian Embassy has been informed about the accident.
The injured passengers were sent to Doi Saket Hospital in Tambon Choengdoi in the province.
Uthai said there were many car accidents in the area but this was the worst with many casualties.
Chiang Mai Governor Pavin Chamniprasart rushed to the scene and inspected the wreckage.
