Canadians Killed In Road Accident Whilst Attempting To Catch Flight From Phuket

[Mai Krap]

This is the first case of tourists killed because of the PAD occupation of the Bangkok airports.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&am...54743435C405499

Canadians killed while fleeing Thailand

Bangkok - Two Canadian tourists stranded by Bangkok's airport closures were killed and a Briton seriously injured in a car crash as they rushed to catch a flight out of southern Thailand, police said on Tuesday.

Two Canadian men aged 63 and 48 were killed early Monday morning in southern Surat Thani province, as they headed to Phuket international airport, while a British woman was also wounded in the crash.

"The van overturned and plunged into the roadside after it tried to avoid crashing with a car in front, which suddenly slammed on the brakes," said Captain Charkrit Nima of the local police force.

He said six tourists were travelling in the van in the hope of catching a Cathay Pacific flight from Phuket, which is handling extra flights out of the kingdom because of the week-long siege of Bangkok's two airports.

A Hong Kong national was killed in a similar traffic accident on Sunday as he also tried to get to Phuket to catch a flight back home.

Up to 350 000 passengers are estimated to have missed flights out of Thailand by the week-long closure of the huge Suvarnabhumi international airport, and the shuttering since last Thursday of the smaller Don Mueang.

They were closed after protesters seized the main terminals as they upped a six-month campaign to topple the government.

Many tourists are flying out of provincial airports including Phuket and Chiang Mai. France, Spain and Australia have sent special flights to evacuate desperate citizens stuck in Thailand.

Tourists are also scrambling to leave via the small, Vietnam-era U-Tapao airport southeast of Bangkok, where queues snake round the basic terminal and thousands of passengers jostle to get their luggage through one scanner.

Check-in facilities have also been opened at a hotel and a convention centre in Bangkok to try to work through the backlog of frustrated holidaymakers.

AFP

Edited December 2, 2008 by endure
Title edited to reflect the truth

[BangkokBP]

This is the first case of tourists killed because of the PAD occupation of the Bangkok airports.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&am...54743435C405499

Canadians killed while fleeing Thailand

Bangkok - Two Canadian tourists stranded by Bangkok's airport closures were killed and a Briton seriously injured in a car crash as they rushed to catch a flight out of southern Thailand, police said on Tuesday.

Two Canadian men aged 63 and 48 were killed early Monday morning in southern Surat Thani province, as they headed to Phuket international airport, while a British woman was also wounded in the crash.

"The van overturned and plunged into the roadside after it tried to avoid crashing with a car in front, which suddenly slammed on the brakes," said Captain Charkrit Nima of the local police force.

He said six tourists were travelling in the van in the hope of catching a Cathay Pacific flight from Phuket, which is handling extra flights out of the kingdom because of the week-long siege of Bangkok's two airports.

A Hong Kong national was killed in a similar traffic accident on Sunday as he also tried to get to Phuket to catch a flight back home.

Up to 350 000 passengers are estimated to have missed flights out of Thailand by the week-long closure of the huge Suvarnabhumi international airport, and the shuttering since last Thursday of the smaller Don Mueang.

They were closed after protesters seized the main terminals as they upped a six-month campaign to topple the government.

Many tourists are flying out of provincial airports including Phuket and Chiang Mai. France, Spain and Australia have sent special flights to evacuate desperate citizens stuck in Thailand.

Tourists are also scrambling to leave via the small, Vietnam-era U-Tapao airport southeast of Bangkok, where queues snake round the basic terminal and thousands of passengers jostle to get their luggage through one scanner.

Check-in facilities have also been opened at a hotel and a convention centre in Bangkok to try to work through the backlog of frustrated holidaymakers.

AFP

That is pretty bad taste. This headline is just appalling and misleading.

/bbp

[Boater]

This is the first case of tourists killed because of the PAD occupation of the Bangkok airports.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&am...54743435C405499

Canadians killed while fleeing Thailand

Bangkok - Two Canadian tourists stranded by Bangkok's airport closures were killed and a Briton seriously injured in a car crash as they rushed to catch a flight out of southern Thailand, police said on Tuesday.

Two Canadian men aged 63 and 48 were killed early Monday morning in southern Surat Thani province, as they headed to Phuket international airport, while a British woman was also wounded in the crash.

"The van overturned and plunged into the roadside after it tried to avoid crashing with a car in front, which suddenly slammed on the brakes," said Captain Charkrit Nima of the local police force.

He said six tourists were travelling in the van in the hope of catching a Cathay Pacific flight from Phuket, which is handling extra flights out of the kingdom because of the week-long siege of Bangkok's two airports.

A Hong Kong national was killed in a similar traffic accident on Sunday as he also tried to get to Phuket to catch a flight back home.

Up to 350 000 passengers are estimated to have missed flights out of Thailand by the week-long closure of the huge Suvarnabhumi international airport, and the shuttering since last Thursday of the smaller Don Mueang.

They were closed after protesters seized the main terminals as they upped a six-month campaign to topple the government.

Many tourists are flying out of provincial airports including Phuket and Chiang Mai. France, Spain and Australia have sent special flights to evacuate desperate citizens stuck in Thailand.

Tourists are also scrambling to leave via the small, Vietnam-era U-Tapao airport southeast of Bangkok, where queues snake round the basic terminal and thousands of passengers jostle to get their luggage through one scanner.

Check-in facilities have also been opened at a hotel and a convention centre in Bangkok to try to work through the backlog of frustrated holidaymakers.

AFP

That is pretty bad taste. This headline is just appalling and misleading.

/bbp

agree

this was actually reported a few days ago....

[endure]

Agreed - it's been edited.

[neverdie]

It might be another example of poor reporting, sensationalism or whatever BUT it still goes to show that there are always ripple effects with things like this. Of course one could argue that perhaps one of the hundreds of planes that could of taken of from Bangkok this week could of crashed and thus the PAD has averted a disaster......its kind of like sliding doors. Having said that I think you would be safer in a burning aircraft plummeting from 40,000 feet with one of its wings torn from the side of it than you would be in a mini bus travelling around thailand

[BangkokBP]

It might be another example of poor reporting, sensationalism or whatever BUT it still goes to show that there are always ripple effects with things like this. Of course one could argue that perhaps one of the hundreds of planes that could of taken of from Bangkok this week could of crashed and thus the PAD has averted a disaster......its kind of like sliding doors. Having said that I think you would be safer in a burning aircraft plummeting from 40,000 feet with one of its wings torn from the side of it than you would be in a mini bus travelling around thailand

Exactly my thoughts. Thanks.

/bbp

[Mai Krap]

Poor taste? I see the PAD as directly responsible for the deaths of these two men. Not only that, If any air accident results from this totally ignorant and completely unjustified act of air terrorism which is now reaching financial costs of billions of dollars with numbers upwards of 300,000 stranded tourist, their leadership should be held directly responsible in both criminal and civil courts.

If I were a family member of either of these two men I would be heading to a law office to retain lawyers and then to the Thai Embassy to hold them responsible.

[BangkokBP]

Poor taste? I see the PAD as directly responsible for the deaths of these two men. Not only that, If any air accident results from this totally ignorant and completely unjustified act of air terrorism which is now reaching financial costs of billions of dollars with numbers upwards of 300,000 stranded tourist, their leadership should be held directly responsible in both criminal and civil courts.

If I were a family member of either of these two men I would be heading to a law office to retain lawyers and then to the Thai Embassy to hold them responsible.

Yes, sensationalism and poor taste in my opinion.

So, it wouldn't matter to you in this equation if the driver of the minivan had a bottle of saeng som prior to the fatal journey, the accident is still the PADs fault?

/bbp

[dotcom]

Stuff happens.

Bad stuff happens.

The Eagles wrote a song about this.

In post 1 it says they were "rushing" to "flee" Thailand.

Potentially the seeds of the misfortune.

You want to sue who?

[neverdie]

Poor taste? I see the PAD as directly responsible for the deaths of these two men. Not only that, If any air accident results from this totally ignorant and completely unjustified act of air terrorism which is now reaching financial costs of billions of dollars with numbers upwards of 300,000 stranded tourist, their leadership should be held directly responsible in both criminal and civil courts.

If I were a family member of either of these two men I would be heading to a law office to retain lawyers and then to the Thai Embassy to hold them responsible.

alot of strange things go before the courts.......i'm not sure i like your chances.....ohh ur chances of losing heaps of cash to shonky lawyers is looking good.

[gk10002000]

Unfortunately, one will probably find that there are as many and probably more deadly traffic accidents during "normal" airport travel days as people speed along the roads here. I am sure most of you have been on the "highways" and seen the bobbing and weaving that goes on.

[1000baht]

Yes, sensationalism and poor taste in my opinion.

So, it wouldn't matter to you in this equation if the driver of the minivan had a bottle of saeng som prior to the fatal journey, the accident is still the PADs fault?

/bbp

What are you talking about man? who said anything about sangsom here? I disagree with you on this one. These 2 men would still be alive if it wasnt for the protesters, thats all the OP is trying to say here. RIP

[Mosha]

Unfortunately everytime I drive on the highways and I find myself blown off the road by these mini bus drivers. They are wreckless in the least. If it hadn't have been these 2 unfortunates it would have been someone else. Caught speeding pay the t-money. Oops corruption, and that is what PAD are protesting about. OK they are not protesting about day to day corruption. However it is a sympton of what is wrong in Thailand. If the people would stop paying the bribes, maybe something positive could come out of it. I know it is pissing in to the wind. I can't even stop my wife from offering up bribes.

[wasabi]

Why Farang come Thailand!

If not in Thailand not die.

[jtp]

Why Farang come Thailand!

If not in Thailand not die.

I think it is a risk one takes,to travel beyond your home,to find the beauty of Thailand and it's people is something so many people have done,and with no regret.I for one, will continue to come here as often as possible,and yes, i have been in a serious car accident here and survived"Good old MB".Life is a risk,who would want to live in a padded room and never experience the joy of adventure?I never "rush" anywhere,it is simply to dangerous to go fast on these roads.Just sit back and enjoy the beauty of Thailand.

[dingdongrb]

First of all I would like to express my condolences to the families of the men, may they rest in peace....

Now for all, it's called the 'Butterfly effect'....

One can never forecast the future let alone their own demise (to some degree). If we could we would all be rich and live much longer.

These two gentlemen could have as easily been walking down NYC and had a crane fall on them. Or perhaps sleeping in their mountain home in beautiful Colorado and had a 10 ton boulder lodge free from the mountain and come crashing through their bedroom while asleep. Perhaps if they waited like the other 100's of thousands for the BKK airports to reopen they would still be alive. Perhaps if they took a taxi, or a bus, or left a minute earlier or even later they would still be alive.

Now I don't know how accurate the news report is but it says, "The van overturned and plunged into the roadside after it tried to avoid crashing with a car in front, which suddenly slammed on the brakes,".... To me this says the men, or driver for the men were at fault for following too close and not leaving enough distance between them and the car ahead of them.... How is the PAD protesters responsible.... Perhaps sue Mother Nature because the sun was too bright that day and the driver was not wearing sunglasses... Get a clue folks!!! Most look for fault of others for their own bad luck and want to make a $$$ from it.... Sounds to me like the 'American Dream' has arrived in LOS.......

[neverdie]

Why Farang come Thailand!

If not in Thailand not die.

....so let me get this right, falangs only die in thailand.....so there must be many very old falangs hiding somewhere, because not all falangs come to thailand, i havent seen where all these really old people are hiding in my country....someone should notify people that you will live forever if you don't come to thailand

[Kerryd]

Sad to say, but the way some people will see it, it was the farangs fault.

After all, if they hadn't come to Thailand in the first place, they wouldn't have been stuck at the airport and wouldn't have had to take the trip to Phuket.

But hey, 349,997 people are still alive as a result of PAD's airport occupation.

If it wasn't for PAD, those 349,997 would have gone home on time, and may have been victims of a crime, or had a heart attacks, or got run over by a drunk drivers, or slipped on a patches of ice, or been in a Mumbai hotel, or one of thousands of other possibilities.

It's OK. They (PAD) aren't looking for your thanks or gratitude. They understand that if it's your time to die, then that's it. It won't matter who you are, where you are, what you're doing or why you're doing it.

You'll still be dead. End of story.

Edited December 2, 2008 by Kerryd

[AlexLah]

You know if my mother and father did not watch TV at the time she was pregnant of me, there would have been a big possibility they would have named me different.

Or should I blame the carmaker because the reason they watched tv is that the car didn't start that nite?

You see I still have a big trauma from that.

By the way also a Dutch tourist died in an accident while taking a taxi to that alternative airport.

I agree any person that dies or get's severly injured in a car accident is one too much.

I also know that the risk in getting involved in a car accident is a bit higher in some parts of Asia compared to some country's in the West.

Maybe the peeps in the van were telling the driver to speed up as they had a plane to catch?

Maybe the driver did not know it is a bit dangerous when doing 120 and have only 10 meters distance between the vehicles?

Many different possibilities, and we will never know what why and who.

Have a nice day.

[Hairy]

Yes, sensationalism and poor taste in my opinion.

So, it wouldn't matter to you in this equation if the driver of the minivan had a bottle of saeng som prior to the fatal journey, the accident is still the PADs fault?

/bbp

What are you talking about man? who said anything about sangsom here? I disagree with you on this one. These 2 men would still be alive if it wasnt for the protesters, thats all the OP is trying to say here. RIP

Maybe, maybe not. What if their plane had had a midair with another on the day of their scheduled departure? Then PAD might have saved most of a planeload of people instead.

The what-if stuff just doesn't work if you think about it beyond the superficial level.

A tragedy regardless; sympathies to their families.

Edited December 2, 2008 by Hairy

[Carib]

Poor taste? I see the PAD as directly responsible for the deaths of these two men. Not only that, If any air accident results from this totally ignorant and completely unjustified act of air terrorism which is now reaching financial costs of billions of dollars with numbers upwards of 300,000 stranded tourist, their leadership should be held directly responsible in both criminal and civil courts.

If I were a family member of either of these two men I would be heading to a law office to retain lawyers and then to the Thai Embassy to hold them responsible.

Yeah right... sigh...

[Lickey]

Its an Americas thing, eg, after a car accident, the ambulance crew ask "are you badly hurt? " the victim says, " i dont know, i have to talk with my solcitor!!"

[dotcom]

I guarantee you if my lottery number doesn't win it will be the fault of the evil PAD.

[Bizz]

Sad to hear this.

The heading was in bad taste.

This headline is just appalling and misleading