Tourist Bus Catches Fire in Pak Chong

[Georgealbert]

 

 

A potentially catastrophic fire broke out on a tourist bus in Pak Chong, Nakhon Ratchasima, on the evening of October 16. Fortunately, no injuries were reported as all passengers had left the bus moments before the blaze to have dinner.

 

The incident occurred along the old Mittraphap Road near Khao Khan Park, within the Pak Chong municipality. Authorities, including Pol. Lt. Col. Suraphat Phadee, Deputy Inspector of Pak Chong Police Station, and local officials, quickly responded to the emergency call. Fire trucks from Pak Chong Municipality and the surrounding areas rushed to the scene and extinguished the flames after a 30 minute effort.

The red and black Scania air-conditioned bus, carrying 50 Indonesian tourists, had just arrived from Bangkok for a visit to Pak Chong. As the tourists were being driven to a nearby restaurant for dinner, the fire erupted in the rear area of the bus. Local residents exercising in Khao Khan Park, along with Pak Chong Mayor Komkrit Limpanyalert, noticed the fire and rushed to assist with firefighting efforts.

 

Although the fire severely damaged the bus, the cause of the blaze remains unknown. Investigations reveal that the bus was running on diesel fuel only and there were no signs of mechanical failure. Thankfully, the tourists’ belongings, including their luggage, was mostly unharmed, with only some water damage.

 

Authorities have called in the Forensic Science Centre Region 3 to determine the cause of the fire.
 

Meanwhile, Pak Chong Municipality arranged alternative transport for the Indonesian tourists, who were safely taken to their hotel in Wang Sai Subdistrict, where their tour company had pre-booked accommodations.

 

Pictures and video from responders.

-- 2024-10-17

 

 

 

 

[steven100]

oh dear Georgealbert,  It is difficult for me to read any bus fire stories after the recent horrible tragedy. 

 

It makes me sad, so I cannot comment.   Just thankful the passengers got off ok. 

 

A diesel leak that was near the battery terminal perhaps ... it can't be much else with a diesel 

Scania DSC9/DSC12 (Euro II) engine.

[Gottfrid]

Another bus fire! We must assume it one that has not yet gone through the rigorous check up. Or maybe that was not necessary for diesel buses? Hmmm....until now it looks like! Just wondering how many years old this bus is, and how many miles it has been running on the same engine. Also, might there be any inspections that have been overlooked due to bribes because everyone knows it should be taken out of commission years ago?

[newbee2022]

2 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

 

 

A potentially catastrophic fire broke out on a tourist bus in Pak Chong, Nakhon Ratchasima, on the evening of October 16. Fortunately, no injuries were reported as all passengers had left the bus moments before the blaze to have dinner.

 

The incident occurred along the old Mittraphap Road near Khao Khan Park, within the Pak Chong municipality. Authorities, including Pol. Lt. Col. Suraphat Phadee, Deputy Inspector of Pak Chong Police Station, and local officials, quickly responded to the emergency call. Fire trucks from Pak Chong Municipality and the surrounding areas rushed to the scene and extinguished the flames after a 30 minute effort.

 

 

 

The red and black Scania air-conditioned bus, carrying 50 Indonesian tourists, had just arrived from Bangkok for a visit to Pak Chong. As the tourists were being driven to a nearby restaurant for dinner, the fire erupted in the rear area of the bus. Local residents exercising in Khao Khan Park, along with Pak Chong Mayor Komkrit Limpanyalert, noticed the fire and rushed to assist with firefighting efforts.

 

Although the fire severely damaged the bus, the cause of the blaze remains unknown. Investigations reveal that the bus was running on diesel fuel only and there were no signs of mechanical failure. Thankfully, the tourists’ belongings, including their luggage, was mostly unharmed, with only some water damage.

 

Authorities have called in the Forensic Science Centre Region 3 to determine the cause of the fire.
 

Meanwhile, Pak Chong Municipality arranged alternative transport for the Indonesian tourists, who were safely taken to their hotel in Wang Sai Subdistrict, where their tour company had pre-booked accommodations.

 

Pictures and video from responders.

-- 2024-10-17

 

 

 

 

Well, good, that nobody was injured. Personal belongings however are gone with the flames.

Apparently this bus escaped the checkup by authorities. 

As living or travelling in Thailand you should always aware of fatal accidents, coffin in sight.🥴

[Tropicalevo]

1 hour ago, newbee2022 said:

Well, good, that nobody was injured. Personal belongings however are gone with the flames.

 

Not really.

 

4 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

Thankfully, the tourists’ belongings, including their luggage, was mostly unharmed, with only some water damage.

 

[MikeandDow]

Oh should we ban diesel Now instead of LNG !!!!!!

[newbee2022]

1 hour ago, Tropicalevo said:

 

Not really.

 

 

Hopefully 

[mran66]

Seems it is bus burning season. For some reason coinciding with rainy season. 

[webfact]

Indonesian tourists and driver dodge fire disaster on coach (video)

by Petch Petpailin

 

Photo via Facebook/ ข่าวปากช่องนิวส์

Fifty Indonesian tourists and a Thai driver last night safely escaped from a fire that broke out on a coach bus parked on a road in the Isaan province of Nakhon Ratchasima.

 

The fire was reported to Pak Chong Police Station and firefighters yesterday, October 16, at about 7.40pm. The incident occurred on a coach bus parked on the Old Friendship Road in the Pak Chong district of Nakhon Ratchasima province.

 

Upon arrival, officers found the blaze severely damaged the middle and rear of the bus, filling the area with thick black smoke. Three fire engines and firefighters spent about 30 minutes extinguishing the flames.

 

The bus driver, 46 year old Apichart, told police and the news outlet KomChadLuek that he was transporting 50 Indonesian tourists from Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima and stopped at the scene so the passengers could dine at a nearby restaurant.

After all the tourists had exited the vehicle, the fire unexpectedly broke out at the back of the bus, prompting bystanders to help Apichart tackle the flames. While much of the vehicle was damaged, the tourists’ luggage and belongings were left untouched.

 

Officers are still unable to identify the cause of the fire, as this red-black Scania coach uses petrol as fuel, and the engine remains undamaged.

 

Police later transported the Indonesian tourists to a hotel in the province using vans, allowing them to continue their trip the following day.

 

One of the most tragic bus accidents occurred at the beginning of this month when a fire broke out on a coach bus of students and teachers during their field trip. The blaze killed 23 teachers and students aged between three and 14.

 

Incidents involving coach buses continued to make headlines following the fatal fire earlier. Another bus accident occurred on October 14 in Nakhon Pathom when a coach collided with a 12-wheel truck, leaving 31 university students injured.

 

On the same day, another coach carrying Malaysian tourists crashed into a semi-trailer truck in the southern province of Songkhla, injuring 17 Malaysian tourists and a Thai tour guide.

 

 

 

 

Source: The Thaiger 

-- 2024-10-17

 

 

[brianthainess]

39 minutes ago, webfact said:

the fire unexpectedly broke out at the back of the bus, prompting bystanders to help Apichart tackle the flames.

Sounds like a Diesel fuel leak onto the hot engine to me. I have seen this on the rubber 'spill' pipes that link across all the injectors, oh and that was a school bus in OZ, it didn't catch fire but could have easily have done.

[lordgrinz]

1 minute ago, brianthainess said:

Sounds like a Diesel fuel leak onto the hot engine to me. I have seen this on the rubber 'spill' pipes that link across all the injectors, oh and that was a school bus in OZ, it didn't catch fire but could have easily have done.

Automatic fire suppression systems would be a good idea on these buses. 

[wozzlegummich]

You would have to be mentally deficient to travel on a bus in Thailand. They are just so dangerous.

[arick]

Okay time to ban all tourist buses traveling around the country just like the government thought they should ban all school trips I say ban all tourist trips.

[sabai-dee-man]

34 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

Sounds like a Diesel fuel leak onto the hot engine to me. I have seen this on the rubber 'spill' pipes that link across all the injectors, oh and that was a school bus in OZ, it didn't catch fire but could have easily have done.

 

Sounds like you really don't know what you're talking about, so really better not to guess!

[Frankie baby]

Very hard for diesel to catch fire, my moneys on the electrics.

[brianthainess]

2 minutes ago, sabai-dee-man said:

 

Sounds like you really don't know what you're talking about, so really better not to guess!

Well it can only be speculation as I haven't seen this Engine, and yes I do do know what I'm talking about, I was a diesel mechanic for 40+ years, I took a job at a school as the groundman/ gardener for 3 months, as a change, and luckily I was there when the driver reported the smell of fuel, I simply snipped off the end and stretched it a bit as they are C shaped, and told her to go and get new spill pipes fitted now. Luckily it was when she had already dropped off the kids at school.

[Jonathan Swift]

6 hours ago, steven100 said:

oh dear Georgealbert,  It is difficult for me to read any bus fire stories after the recent horrible tragedy. 

 

It makes me sad, so I cannot comment.   Just thankful the passengers got off ok. 

 

A diesel leak that was near the battery terminal perhaps ... it can't be much else with a diesel 

Scania DSC9/DSC12 (Euro II) engine.

Diesel is much more difficult to ignite than gasoline, unlikely that low voltage battery terminal sparks would do it. Also, fuel lines don't run anywhere near the battery. Lastly, it looks like the upper deck was the focal point which would suggest possibly someone's battery power pack inside luggage as a possibility. These are just guesses, but I agree that it's great news that no one was hurt. 

[brianthainess]

5 minutes ago, Frankie baby said:

Very hard for diesel to catch fire, my moneys on the electrics.

Not if it leaks onto a hot exhaust manifold 

[Jonathan Swift]

3 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

Well it can only be speculation as I haven't seen this Engine, and yes I do do know what I'm talking about, I was a diesel mechanic for 40+ years, I took a job at a school as the groundman/ gardener for 3 months, as a change, and luckily I was there when the driver reported the smell of fuel, I simply snipped off the end and stretched it a bit as they are C shaped, and told her to go and get new spill pipes fitted now. Luckily it was when she had already dropped off the kids at school.

So I guess we need to rethink who doesn't know what they're talking about, don't we? I'm not a professional, but have worked on a lot of cars. I suspect this could have been from a battery fire inside someone's luggage, since it was the upper deck that burned. Or, possibly a runaway diesel engine, but I never heard of that happening on a bus or commercial engine. But there's no point in guessing, we should wait until the investigation is complete. 

[brianthainess]

2 minutes ago, Jonathan Swift said:

Diesel is much more difficult to ignite than gasoline, unlikely that low voltage battery terminal sparks would do it. Also, fuel lines don't run anywhere near the battery. Lastly, it looks like the upper deck was the focal point which would suggest possibly someone's battery power pack inside luggage as a possibility. These are just guesses, but I agree that it's great news that no one was hurt. 

Diesel will not ignite with a spark, it is ignited by Heat. 

[sabai-dee-man]

14 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

Well it can only be speculation as I haven't seen this Engine, and yes I do do know what I'm talking about, I was a diesel mechanic for 40+ years, I took a job at a school as the groundman/ gardener for 3 months, as a change, and luckily I was there when the driver reported the smell of fuel, I simply snipped off the end and stretched it a bit as they are C shaped, and told her to go and get new spill pipes fitted now. Luckily it was when she had already dropped off the kids at school.

 

Well in that case I'd expect you know all about HSI, and the properties of diesel fuel.

[NorthernRyland]

I was in a bus to Mae Sai that broke down going up a hill and we had to all evacuate and change buses. What I find so strange is how Thai's will do little to no communication. The bus stalled and the driver parked and opened the doors. Didn't say a single word. People just figured out it was broken and started to walk off. Eventually I got off too but I had no idea why or what was going to happen (couldn't speak yet Thai back then).

[Jonathan Swift]

3 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

Not if it leaks onto a hot exhaust manifold 

So you're arguing just to argue? It is a fact that diesel is much more difficult to ignite than gasoline. It's a matter of physics. The flash point is much higher. Pouring diesel onto an open flame also does not change that basic fact. If you pour liquid diesel onto a lit match the match will extinguish. Not so with gasoline. The commenter said nothing about diesel at much higher than normal temperatures such as leaking onto a hot manifold. If you pour both gasoline and diesel onto to the same manifold at the same temperature which will ignite first? Which is more explosive, gasoline vapor or diesel vapor? Duh. Plus that photo you posted is meaningless. The flash point, or minimal temperature for ignition to take place,  of diesel is greater than 126º F/ 52º C.  You might want to actually read up before you post. Auto ignition is exactly what it says - the temperature at which the fuel will spontaneously burst into flame. Here:

 

"Petrol (gasoline) has a fairly low flashpoint at −43 °C (−45 °F). This means that, unless you’re in one of the coldest places in the world, your petrol fuel is above its flashpoint. White Diesel, on the other hand, enjoys a mid-range flash point of over 52 °C (126 °F), meaning the exact opposite! Diesel will likely be below its flash point unless you are in a particularly hot place.

Both petrol and diesel have quite high autoignition temperatures, or our vehicles would be in trouble! Petrol and diesel have autoignition temperatures of 280 °C (536 °F) and 210 °C (410 °F), respectively."

[harryviking]

Badly serviced busses by amateurs makes the a death trap! I will never sit in one....😫 The strange thing is that diesel busses should much safer than any other busses as diesel is not very "explosive," is it!🙄

[Jonathan Swift]

12 minutes ago, sabai-dee-man said:

 

Well in that case I'd expect you know all about HSI, and the properties of diesel fuel.

"Petrol (gasoline) has a fairly low flashpoint at −43 °C (−45 °F). This means that, unless you’re in one of the coldest places in the world, your petrol fuel is above its flashpoint. White Diesel, on the other hand, enjoys a mid-range flash point of over 52 °C (126 °F), meaning the exact opposite! Diesel will likely be below its flash point unless you are in a particularly hot place.

Both petrol and diesel have quite high autoignition temperatures, or our vehicles would be in trouble! Petrol and diesel have autoignition temperatures of 280 °C (536 °F) and 210 °C (410 °F), respectively." OK with you?

[Jonathan Swift]

1 minute ago, harryviking said:

Badly serviced busses by amateurs makes the a death trap! I will never sit in one....😫

How do you know what caused this fire? Are you psychic? Due to the location of the damage, how do you know it wasn't a lithium battery pack fire from inside someone's luggage in the baggage compartment or passenger area? Nobody checks for that on buses.  I've been riding buses in Thailand for the past 11 years, my confidence in them is not the least bit diminished by the occasional accident. I have only had one bus incident in my entire 67 years, and that was in the US where the driver had been monkeying around with the engine himself.

[malibukid]

Thai buses are death traps it seems.

[Chongalulu]

3 hours ago, MikeandDow said:

Oh should we ban diesel Now instead of LNG !!!!!!

Diesel is quite difficult to light vs petrol or gas. It takes immense pressure or sustained flame to do so.

[malibukid]

5 minutes ago, Jonathan Swift said:

How do you know what caused this fire? Are you psychic? Due to the location of the damage, how do you know it wasn't a lithium battery pack fire from inside someone's luggage in the baggage compartment or passenger area? Nobody checks for that on buses.  I've been riding buses in Thailand for the past 11 years, my confidence in them is not the least bit diminished by the occasional accident. I have only had one bus incident in my entire 67 years, and that was in the US where the driver had been monkeying around with the engine himself.

simple compare them per passenger miles driven with other buses in other countries.

[norsurin]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Indonesian tourists and driver dodge fire disaster on coach (video)

by Petch Petpailin

 

Photo via Facebook/ ข่าวปากช่องนิวส์

Fifty Indonesian tourists and a Thai driver last night safely escaped from a fire that broke out on a coach bus parked on a road in the Isaan province of Nakhon Ratchasima.

 

The fire was reported to Pak Chong Police Station and firefighters yesterday, October 16, at about 7.40pm. The incident occurred on a coach bus parked on the Old Friendship Road in the Pak Chong district of Nakhon Ratchasima province.

 

Upon arrival, officers found the blaze severely damaged the middle and rear of the bus, filling the area with thick black smoke. Three fire engines and firefighters spent about 30 minutes extinguishing the flames.

 

The bus driver, 46 year old Apichart, told police and the news outlet KomChadLuek that he was transporting 50 Indonesian tourists from Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima and stopped at the scene so the passengers could dine at a nearby restaurant.

After all the tourists had exited the vehicle, the fire unexpectedly broke out at the back of the bus, prompting bystanders to help Apichart tackle the flames. While much of the vehicle was damaged, the tourists’ luggage and belongings were left untouched.

 

Officers are still unable to identify the cause of the fire, as this red-black Scania coach uses petrol as fuel, and the engine remains undamaged.

 

Police later transported the Indonesian tourists to a hotel in the province using vans, allowing them to continue their trip the following day.

 

One of the most tragic bus accidents occurred at the beginning of this month when a fire broke out on a coach bus of students and teachers during their field trip. The blaze killed 23 teachers and students aged between three and 14.

 

Incidents involving coach buses continued to make headlines following the fatal fire earlier. Another bus accident occurred on October 14 in Nakhon Pathom when a coach collided with a 12-wheel truck, leaving 31 university students injured.

 

On the same day, another coach carrying Malaysian tourists crashed into a semi-trailer truck in the southern province of Songkhla, injuring 17 Malaysian tourists and a Thai tour guide.

 

 

 

 

Source: The Thaiger 

-- 2024-10-17

 

 

Killing the tourist industry.Its to many stories now about the unsafe travel in Thailand.

I haven't take a bus for ages..use my regular taxi who drive safe and not like an idiot in 150 km/h.