20 registered Myanmar migrants burned to death on bus in Tak

By The Nation

 

 

A chartered double-decker bus taking 47 registered Myanmar workers to Pathum Thani caught fire in Tak early Friday, killing 20 of them trapped inside, police said.

 

Three other Myanmar were injured when they jumped down from the bus while 24 others could run out in time and were not injured.

 

The Thai bus driver, his aide and his wife also escaped uninjured.

 

The Mae Tho police station was alerted of the fire on the highway No 12 in Tambon Mae Tho in Tak's Muang district at 1 am.

 

When police and fire fighters arrived, the entire bus was engulfed in the fire, which was put out shortly after.

 

Rescuers found 20 bodies, which were charred beyond recognition, inside the bus.

 

Police said the 47 Myanmar workers had proper documents and were travelling on the chartered bus from the border checkpoint in Tak's Mae Sot district heading to the Navanakhon industrial estate in Pathum Thani.

 

Survivors said the fire started at the middle of the bus and spread quickly, trapping those in the back.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30342065

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-03-30

 

 

Another double decker taking lives. That is absolutely terrible for those poor people. Buses catching fire in Thailand is way too prevalent. If it isn't the brakes or the driver at fault, shoddy servicing and repair seems to step in to create way too much tragedy. How did those at the back get trapped? What happened to the emergency exit?

Bus inferno kills 20 Myanmar workers

By Thai PBS

 

 

About 20 Myanmar workers died and three were injured when a chartered bus caught fire while on the way to Mae Sot district of Tak province before dawn on Friday.

 

The warm or no air-conditioning bus was taking about 47 workers, mostly women but two men, from Myanmar to work in Nawa Nakhon industrial estate in Pathum Thani province on highway 12 (Phitsanulok – Lomsak) when there was fire inside the bus.

 

Initial report said 20 workers were killed as they could not escape out of the bus in time. 27 others managed to escape, three received burns.

 

Full story: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/bus-inferno-kills-20-myanmar-workers/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2018-03-30

6 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

Another double decker taking lives. That is absolutely terrible for those poor people. Buses catching fire in Thailand is way too prevalent. If it isn't the brakes or the driver at fault, shoddy servicing and repair seems to step in to create way too much tragedy. How did those at the back get trapped? What happened to the emergency exit?

"What happened to the emergency exit?"

There would not be one,it would have spoiled the lines of the bus,

as with everything ,looks are more important.

regards worgeordie

24 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

What happened to the emergency exit?

My first thought too. Exits and fire extinguishers should be readily available and highlighted from the onset but something clearly went drastically wrong here...

RIP to the deceased & let's see the owner / operator held to account.

20 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

"What happened to the emergency exit?"

There would not be one,it would have spoiled the lines of the bus,

as with everything ,looks are more important.

regards worgeordie

From my previous experience on some of these busses ( which I now avoid ) the chances are that the emergency exit would have been blocked by luggage or extra cargo, RIP to those who lost their lives. 

the ''Thai Lottery '' strikes again..this will never end, as thais must play this deadly game each and every day,travelling home, traveling  to work etc.etc..all of us living here in Thailand know this...do you feel lucky today??

Edited March 30, 20188 yr by mok199
speliing

The fire alegedly started in the middle of the bus so it couldn't be an engine fire becausr the engine is at the rear  and was more likely a fuel leak 

I think it's about time for all these buses to be taken out of service until thorough safety checks have been carried out and comprehensive driver training program has been implemented. Although you will never completely eradicate these sort of incidents, they happen way to frequently here in Thailand.  SOMETHING MUST BE DONE NOW!!!!!

53 minutes ago, johncat1 said:

The fire alegedly started in the middle of the bus so it couldn't be an engine fire becausr the engine is at the rear  and was more likely a fuel leak 

No, diesel does not ignite quickly like petrol, it takes a fair bit of heat to ignite, my thoughts would be more on the line of someone lighting up a cigarette and it ending up on the seat which is highly flammable material and it would travel quickly or an electrical fault under the seats but this would be doubtful. The interior of the bus is the same whether it is a single deck or double decker and the same materials are used in other countries UK, USA, Europe and Australia in the fitting out of their coaches. One of the differences is that in most other countries smoking even by the driver is prohibited but unfortunately in Thailand it is not

and cars and planes and trains and then get your ass kicked when the horse decides that it does not want to move.

Remember that buses have caught fire in the UK, USA, Europe and Australia and so have cars and planes and trains.

RIP

 

Edited March 30, 20188 yr by metisdead
Re-posted video removed.

A post all in caps has been removed, please turn off your caps lock, thank you

Fire kills 20 Myanmar migrant workers on bus in Thailand - police

 

Firefighters extinguish a fire on board a bus, which killed migrant workers from Myanmar, in Tak province, Thailand, March 30, 2018. Dailynews via REUTERS

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A fire on board a bus in western Thailand killed 20 migrant workers from Myanmar early on Friday, police said.

 

The bus was carrying 47 workers who had just crossed the border into Thailand to work legally. Three other people on the bus were injured but the rest escaped unharmed, police said.

 

"The driver said he saw fire breaking out from the middle of the bus, which then spread quickly," Kritkanok Dan-udom, the chief of Maetor district police station, told Reuters.

 

Pictures in Thai media showed the burnt-out shell of the bus.

 

Thailand's roads have been ranked as the deadliest in the world after Libya's, according to the World Health Organization's most recent study.

 

Thailand is estimated to have more than 3 million migrant workers, many of whom come from much poorer neighbour Myanmar. Work permit rules were tightened last year.

 

(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat; Writing by Patpicha Tanakasempipat; Editing by Paul Tait)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-03-30

2 hours ago, worgeordie said:

"What happened to the emergency exit?"

There would not be one,it would have spoiled the lines of the bus,

as with everything ,looks are more important.

regards worgeordie

TBF , many coaches in Thailand have an emergency exit at the back of the coach and seats have been removed and some have a emergency exit in the roof .

   You can also see the emergency door at the back of the bus in the video and the door was open

Edited March 30, 20188 yr by sanemax
addition

It does not matter what you do you will never stop the normal human trait in these sort of things and that trait is "panic"

Not even the TVF members that are all for blaming things would not panic in this type of situation. All buses, cars, trains and planes seats are made from the famous flammable material called foam rubber and that is covered with another flammable material called cloth and even the roof and side linings on all these things are covered with flammable materials, so unless you want to sit on a bare steel seat in the plane for your next 12 hour flight then you had better get used to the fact that there are many things that are around you in your everyday life that are dangerous. There have been bus fires in the London Metro buses, there have been fires in buses in Australia so Thailand is no different to the rest of the world when it comes to this type of thing

Tak Governor to smooth way for Myanmar relatives to retrieve bodies of bus-fire victims

By The Nation

 

The Tak governor and Tak police chief will coordinate with government agencies to help relatives enter Thailand to retrieve the bodies of 20 Myanmar workers killed in a bus fire in the province’s Muang district early on Friday.

 

Tak Governor Charoenrit Sa-nguansat and Tak police chief Pol Maj-General Parinya Wisitphakul surveyed the accident scene shortly after the tragic incident.

 

They said they would coordinate with government agencies concerned to make it easy for the relatives to retrieve the bodies.

The bodies need to first be identified after being burned beyond recognition.

 

Rescuers said the bodies were found piled up on one another near the exit doors.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30342074

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-03-30

1 hour ago, johncat1 said:

The fire alegedly started in the middle of the bus so it couldn't be an engine fire becausr the engine is at the rear  and was more likely a fuel leak 

and more than likely not.

 

Bodies of Tak bus-fire victims being sent 150km for identification

By The Nation

 

The badly-burned bodies of 20 Myanmar workers killed in a bus fire in Tak’s Muang district early on Friday will be sent about 150 kilometres to two hospitals in Phitsanulok for identification.

 

The bodies were initially sent to the Tak provincial hospital.

 

Due to a lack of equipment required for the disaster victim identification (DVI) process, that hospital announced that the bodies would be forwarded at noon on Friday to the Buddhachinaraj Hospital and the Naresuan Hospital.

 

The Tak governor previously announced that he would ensure a smooth process for relatives of the victims as they retrieved the bodies.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30342075

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-03-30

20 Foreign Workers Incinerated In Bus Fire

By Chayanit Itthipongmaetee, Staff Reporter

 

  

TAK — Twenty foreigners were killed when a bus caught fire early Friday on a highway in the north.

 

A double-decker bus carrying nearly 50 registered Myanmar workers was engulfed in flames, trapping the passengers inside and immediately killing 20.

 

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/calamity/2018/03/30/20-foreign-workers-incinerated-in-bus-fire/

 

-- © Copyright Khaosod English 2018-03-30

One cause being mooted:

"... some witnesses said a migrant worker smoked in the bus and discarded ... the cigar butt on the bus floor. The lit cigarette butt might (have) slipped into the luggage compartment of the bus and later caught fire."

 

Also:

"Rescuers said the bodies were found piled up on one another near the exit doors."

 

Which suggests a logjam at the exit doors exacerbating casualties.

 

I suppose it happening at 1.40 am in the morning didn't help much either.

 

7 minutes ago, nausea said:

Also:

"Rescuers said the bodies were found piled up on one another near the exit doors."

Which suggests a logjam at the exit doors exacerbating casualties.

Which also suggests that the fire spread quickly and engulfed the bus instantly , not giving enough time for everyone to escape .

   Only half the people managed to get out .

A fuel leak may have cause an instant ignition , rather than a slowly spreading fire

No window breakers hammers installed besides each window? Tourbus company is responsible for that.

Unless you have been in a vehicle or structure fire you have no idea how toxic the smoke is! I have been and I can tell you that it is nothing like campfire smoke! The burning material is likely paint, foam, plastics, etc. These give off horrible gasses when burned! Just a few lung fulls and you will be incapable of getting out. If the escape door was open but people had to wait in line to get out for more than a breath or two they probably didn't get out!

As a kid I was upstairs when there was a kitchen fire. I got out on the 2nd try only because I got air from an open window and could hold my breath long enough to get through the smoke. 

Very, very sad for the people who lost their lives!

5 hours ago, darksidedog said:

emergency exit?

emergency exit? 

 

.... are you having a laugh ?

5 minutes ago, onekoolguy said:

Unless you have been in a vehicle or structure fire you have no idea how toxic the smoke is! I have been and I can tell you that it is nothing like campfire smoke! The burning material is likely paint, foam, plastics, etc. These give off horrible gasses when burned! Just a few lung fulls and you will be incapable of getting out. If the escape door was open but people had to wait in line to get out for more than a breath or two they probably didn't get out!

As a kid I was upstairs when there was a kitchen fire. I got out on the 2nd try only because I got air from an open window and could hold my breath long enough to get through the smoke. 

Very, very sad for the people who lost their lives!

 

 

I'll second that....as well as the total black out conditions and panic...people get totally disorientated very quickly.

I was 32 years as a fire fighter so i have seen it all.....Very sad 

RIP to all the unfortunate souls.

 

The Thai government is just not shameful on how they managed the country - this speaks all!

I wonder how much insurance compensation will be paid out to the relatives of the unfortunate ones who died?

11 hours ago, Dmaxdan said:

I think it's about time for all these buses to be taken out of service until thorough safety checks have been carried out and comprehensive driver training program has been implemented. Although you will never completely eradicate these sort of incidents, they happen way to frequently here in Thailand.  SOMETHING MUST BE DONE NOW!!!!!

 

Nothing will be done unless a VIP dies in one of them. And VIPs do not travel by bus, despite many of the buses calling themselves VIP service. Really, it is a different culture from what we are used to, and life isn't considered worthy enough to make a large effort to preserve it. The thought process is that everyone is going to die anyway. Mai Pen Rai. That's not me talking. That's what a Thai told me.

6 hours ago, harada said:

From my previous experience on some of these busses ( which I now avoid ) the chances are that the emergency exit would have been blocked by luggage or extra cargo, RIP to those who lost their lives. 

I used to travel from Ranong to Hat Yai on every weekend. Emergency exits were always closed. Some passengers had to stand because they had no seats. The top of it was that the center luggage area was jammed with luggage and people. In case of an accident, they simply had no chance. I have no reason to believe that anything has changed....