At Least 19 Dead In Bus Accident Carrying University Students

[sriracha john]

At least 19 dead in Thai bus accident: police

BANGKOK (AFP / 10 minutes ago) - At least 19 people were killed and more than 50 injured Friday when a bus carrying university students crashed in eastern Thailand, a police officer said.

"Nineteen bodies are retrieved and I saw at least three more bodies trapped under the bus. I fear that there may be more victims after we lift the bus," local police officer Major Akkapark Jitprayoon told AFP.

"The accident may have been caused by the driver, who is presumed killed."

A highway police officer in eastern Prachinburi province, where the accident happened, said they suspected the driver had fallen asleep at the wheel, as the bus overturned with no other apparent cause for the crash.

Sixteen men and three women were killed immediately in the accident 135 kilometres (83 miles) east of Bangkok, police said.

The charter bus was will filled with students from a technology university in northeastern Khon Kaen province.

They were travelling to a field trip in the coastal province of Chantaburi when the bus overturned at 3:30 am (2030 GMT Thursday).

Injured passengers were taken to three nearby hospitals. It was not immediately clear how many were wounded, with police saying only at least 50 were being treated.

[way2muchcoffee]

Very sad. Condolences to the family and friends of the dead, and we'll hope the injured recover quickly.

It is criminal the way the bus companies here schedule routes for drivers. To be sure the guy shouldn't have fallen asleep, if that's what happened, but what is he supposed to do? Smoke yabaa to stay awake? Energy drinks only go so far. At that time of night it is also possible that he swerved to avoid an oncoming drunk driver and lost control. We'll never know. The police will place the blame squarely on the driver. He's dead and won't kick up a fuss.

[george]

Bus crashes, killing 24 college students

PRACHIN BURI: -- A tour bus carrying students of Khonkaen College of Agriculture and Technology crashed in Prachin Buri province this morning, killing 24 people and injuring about 30 others early Friday.

According to police, the bus was carrying some 50 students to an educational tour at the province but the bus, which was believed to be running at a high speed, went out of the route and crashed at around 3.30am.

Police believed that the cause of the crash was because of the driver's unfamiliarity with the route.

Chaturong Muangkam, the bus driver, was found dead at the scene.

Injured students were taken to three nearby hospitals.

-- Bangkok Post 2008-10-10

[AlKing]

I am so sorry to hear that. Why so many bad thing happens to Khon Kaen people lately. I better tell my wife to Tam Boon this weekend for us and the people of Khon Kaen.

[GungaDin]

I used to dread the rtn journey on the poipet to bkk bus route at night.

That's why I changed over to Jacks Golf service for my visa runs.

If travelling by bus, stick with govt run bus services.

A very sad day for all those families.

My condolences to all who lost family & friends.

[lioness]

very very sad, my condolences to the families.

[sbk]

Inappropriate political comments and inflammatory responses have been removed.

lets show some respect to the many families who have lost loved ones in this accident by keeping our political views out of it, thanks.

[jumnien]

Tragic accident. Best wishes to the injured. May they be rejoined with their families ASAP! Say a prayer...

[Scott]

My deepest condolences to the family, friends, and peers of the victims of this tragedy. It is very sad to see such young lives cut short while they have so much ahead of them.

[GungaDin]

Inappropriate political comments and inflammatory responses have been removed.

lets show some respect to the many families who have lost loved ones in this accident by keeping our political views out of it, thanks.

Thank you, it was inappropriate and very insensitive.

[kmart]

Very sad. Condolences to the family and friends of the dead, and we'll hope the injured recover quickly.

It is criminal the way the bus companies here schedule routes for drivers. To be sure the guy shouldn't have fallen asleep, if that's what happened, but what is he supposed to do? Smoke yabaa to stay awake? Energy drinks only go so far. At that time of night it is also possible that he swerved to avoid an oncoming drunk driver and lost control. We'll never know. The police will place the blame squarely on the driver. He's dead and won't kick up a fuss.

It is something that needs to be addressed urgently. It is criminal negligence by people who know the price of everything yet the value of sweet FA. These things happen all too commonly here....

Condolenses to the families involved.

[soundman]

Absolutely terrible.

Condolences to the families and loved ones for their tragic loss.

[stumonster]

why is it everytime a tragic accident is posted on the News forum , over half the replies are people only contributing

my condolences

maybe we need a condolence forum so we can keep this one for news

[george]

21 killed, 27 injured in bus accident in Prachin Buri

PRACHINBURI: -- Prchin Buri – A bus carrying 43 lecturers, students and staff of a university for a field trip overturned, killing 21 people, and injuring 27 others, police said.

The accident happened at 3 am while the bus was running down the hill in Prachin Buri’s Nadee district.

The bus developed a brake malfunction and could not slow down when it was running down the hill on the sharp curve part of Nadee-Kabin Buri Road and the driver decided to slam the bus into a sane dune designed for emergency stop.

However, the bus climbed up the sand dune and overturned on another hill.

Police said 18 men and three women were killed while 23 other men and four women were injured.

The injured were rushed to the Nadee district Hospital, Kabin Buri district Hospital, Wang Nam Khiew district Hospital. Four of them were passed on the provincial hospital.

-- The Nation 2008-10-10

[jamesjdaly]

Pardon my French, but when will this fuc_king carnage stop?

RIP to all who perished, and will perish, at the hands of irresponsible people who don't give a shit about safety or traffic laws.

Edited October 10, 2008 by jamesjdaly

[ratcatcher]

A privately owned bus crashes in the night and 21 people lose their lives and about 24 are seriously injured, some maybe with life threatening injuries.

Had this headline read " Bangkok Airways (or any other airline) plane crashes in Phuket, 21 dead", what do you think the reaction would be?

The owner of the aircraft would be held responsible and identified much the same way the owner of the plane that crashed there some months ago. There would be a major government investigation etc etc

I wish the Nation or Bangkok Post would do an investigative article on this company and it's owners and find out if there were indeed major defects to this and other buses owned by the same company.

It's a damned crime when innocent people lose their lives due to cheap Charlie owners.

Finally I am sad for all those families whose lives have been shattered by a loved one lost.

[TEFLMike]

RIP to all those who died in this terrible accident. And a speedy recovery to all the injured.

Edited October 10, 2008 by TEFLMike

[sriracha john]

I wish the Nation or Bangkok Post would do an investigative article on this company and it's owners and find out if there were indeed major defects to this and other buses owned by the same company.

It's a damned crime when innocent people lose their lives due to cheap Charlie owners.

Finally I am sad for all those families whose lives have been shattered by a loved one lost.

At least they are duly identified with bold, italicized, and underlined text... which is a start...

The wreckage of a bus which took students and teachers from Khon Kaen on a study tour to Chanthaburi lies on the side of the road. Twenty-one people were killed and 27 others injured after the bus tumbled down a hill and crashed.

Bangkok Post

21 die in tour bus plunge

Bus fails to take steep slope, rolls down hill

21 people were killed and 27 others injured when a bus taking students and teachers from Khon Kaen on a study tour failed to negotiate a steep slope, tumbled down the hill and crashed in Prachinburi's Nadi district. Bus driver Jaturong Muangkham, 40, was killed in the accident which occurred about 3.30am yesterday. There were 51 people on board the bus - 43 students, 3 teachers, the driver, and 4 bus crew. The bus, owned by Jaturong Tour Company, was taking the students and teachers from Khon Kaen College of Agriculture and Technology to the Khung Kraben Bay Royal Development Study Centre in Chanthaburi province. *which is an amazing place, btw* Rescue units from nearby hospitals travelled to the scene of the accident to rescue the victims, many of whom were trapped under the wreckage of the bus. A crane was called in to lift the wreckage to help rescue work and clear the way for traffic. Prachinburi Police Chief Sanchai Chaiamporn said an initial investigation found the bus brakes failed as the vehicle was coming down a steep slope. The driver then lost control on a sharp bend. The bus skidded off the road, tumbled down the hill, and crashed. The accident occurred on Highway 304 which runs through Khao Yai and Tab Lan National Parks. Police said accidents were frequent on this steep slope resulting in many deaths and injuries each year. Of the 21 dead victims, 18 were male and the rest female, mostly Khon Kaen natives. 23 of the 27 injured were men and the rest women. Most of them suffered broken limbs.

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/111008_News/11Oct2008_news04.php

Edited October 10, 2008 by sriracha john

[plachon]

This is a terrible tragedy that touches me personally. I used to teach at Khon Kaen Agricultural College in the early 90s (before it gained the Technology part) and have many happy memories of it. There were and I'm sure still are, many fine and dedicated teachers there, some of whom I fear may have been killed or injured in this crash. The students are generally from low income households (mostly farmers sons and daughters) who can't afford the higher fees of more prestigious places. This will affect the lives of hundreds of families, many of whom may have lost children who they had great dreams for.

A sad day for Thailand, an especially sad day for Khon Kaen and even sadder one for the small district of Mancha Kiri.

My deepest condolences to all who've lost loved ones in this senseless accident.

[hansnl]

The tragic bus accidents are becoming a very sad way of life in Thailand. I will not lay the blame with the drivers. The blame can be laid on the way transport is organised in Thailand. The free market is there to make money for the shareholders. In difficult times the costs will be lowered. Material, drivers, safety measures, all will be under pressure. Resulting in accidents. And nowadays we see what the free market enterprise does to the world, again. The Thai bus companies, marginal in their existence already, are a prime example of the way the unbridled capitalism has a very high disregard for human beings. It is getting high time the Thai government starts doing things for the people. And stop doing nothing else but trying to get Mr T scotfree and back in Thailand. There are far more important things to address in Thailand.

[sriracha john]

an initial investigation found the bus brakes failed as the vehicle was coming down a steep slope. The driver then lost control on a sharp bend. The bus skidded off the road, tumbled down the hill, and crashed.

Buses here need speed limiters and seatbelts and competent drivers.

Functional brakes would help as well.

[mumbojumbo]

an initial investigation found the bus brakes failed as the vehicle was coming down a steep slope. The driver then lost control on a sharp bend. The bus skidded off the road, tumbled down the hill, and crashed.

Buses here need speed limiters and seatbelts and competent drivers.

Functional brakes would help as well.

I have been on these types of buses and they get into races. Unless the occupants start screaming, they dont back off.

Sorry for the loss, but probably operator error.

[ronthailand]

THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD REQUIRE EVERY BUS TO HAVE POSTED THE TELEPHONE NUMBERS OF THE BUS COMPANY, THE HIGHWAY POLICE AND THE ROYAL THAI POLICE, ALONG WITH A MESSAGE THAT PASSENGERS SHOULD INFORM SUCH WHEN A BUS DRIVER IS PUTTING THEIR LIVES AT RISK OR THEY SUSPECT THE BUS MECHANICAL CONDITION IS UNSAFE.

[grahamhc]

If this is the stretch of road that I am thinking of, The 304 between Kabinburi and Korat, the road is lethal. Most times I travel that way there are either crashes or broken down vehicles. Due to the gradiant, many brakes fail. There are gravel escape routes on the downward slopes.

The GOOD NEWS is that they are replaceing the whole stretch with a dual carriageway road, by literally carving great chunks out the side of the mountain pass.

It is a very long stretch so is taking time, but some of the road is now open as it is completed. My GPS showed that the rise is very large, then you go down the other side onto the plateau.

[sangfroid]

A privately owned bus crashes in the night and 21 people lose their lives and about 24 are seriously injured, some maybe with life threatening injuries.

Had this headline read " Bangkok Airways (or any other airline) plane crashes in Phuket, 21 dead", what do you think the reaction would be?

The owner of the aircraft would be held responsible and identified much the same way the owner of the plane that crashed there some months ago. There would be a major government investigation etc etc

I wish the Nation or Bangkok Post would do an investigative article on this company and it's owners and find out if there were indeed major defects to this and other buses owned by the same company.

It's a damned crime when innocent people lose their lives due to cheap Charlie owners.

Finally I am sad for all those families whose lives have been shattered by a loved one lost.

Investigative journalism in Thailand???

[Maigo6]

Very tragic accident, to anyone who doesn't know that stretch of road, it is a dangerous road with steep gradients, it would be an accident prone road in any country on Earth.

If this had happened on a mountain road in Switzerland it would be seen as a Tragic accident, cos it happens in Thailand certain posters use it as a platform for slagging off Thai people.

Those posters who are using this tragic accident as a way to belittle Thai people and Thailand in general, really ought to take a good long look at themselves.

My little sis is in Techno school in Khon Kaen and thankfully she came home for the weekend.

RIP to those that died in this tragic acident.

Edited October 12, 2008 by Maigo6

[onnut]

this is very sad news.

every year I hire a bus for our staff outing, after the <deleted> driver we used for the first year scared the hel_l out of us I now tell the driver he will get 2000 baht bonus when we get back to Bangkok if I thought he drove safe. its much safer for the staff now.

[Rajah]

Pictures

[sriracha john]

It's a miracle anyone survived this....

[whatsoever]

This is a terrible tragedy that touches me personally. I used to teach at Khon Kaen Agricultural College in the early 90s (before it gained the Technology part) and have many happy memories of it. There were and I'm sure still are, many fine and dedicated teachers there, some of whom I fear may have been killed or injured in this crash. The students are generally from low income households (mostly farmers sons and daughters) who can't afford the higher fees of more prestigious places. This will affect the lives of hundreds of families, many of whom may have lost children who they had great dreams for.

A sad day for Thailand, an especially sad day for Khon Kaen and even sadder one for the small district of Mancha Kiri.

My deepest condolences to all who've lost loved ones in this senseless accident.

Certainly a devastating day for the familys! But for Thailand - well one has to wonder when one considers that there are countless numbers of people slaughtered on the roads every single day. Literaly hundreds during holidays such as Sonkran and New Year. As you say another sensless accident. The slaughter will continue unabated - education of drivers and a national driving test is needed