19 dead in Thai bus smash: authorities

Image source: Matichon Online

BANGKOK, July 23, 2013 (AFP) - Nineteen people were killed and 20 hurt Tuesday when a double decker coach collided with a truck in central Thailand and burst into flames, authorities said.

"Altogether there are 19 dead -- 18 died at the scene and another one died at the hospital," said an official from the national institute for emergency medicine in Bangkok, who asked not to be named.

She added that 20 people were injured in the early morning crash in central Saraburi province.

The inter-province bus, which was travelling from Bangkok to Roi Et in the northeast of the country, caught fire after the crash.

Images from Thai television news showed the extent of the damage to the vehicle, which appeared to have been completely incinerated and reduced to its metal shell.

Authorities said the crash was a head-on collision involving three vehicles.

Police have arrested the driver of the cement truck, who they said appeared to have lost control of his vehicle just before the incident.

"The truck crossed from the opposite lane of traffic and hit the bus," said local police officer Lieutenant Colonel Assavathep Janthanari, adding that a pickup truck behind the bus had also been involved in the crash.

He said the dead and injured were from the coach and the pickup truck.

It was not immediately clear how many people had been travelling in the coach.

Witthichart Kallayanamitr, director of the company under the ministry of transport which owns the bus, said its normal capacity would have been 32 people.

Safety standards are often poor in Thailand and transport accidents are relatively common.

Earlier this month an overnight sleeper train travelling from Bangkok to the northern city of Chiang Mai derailed injuring 23 people, including 18 foreign tourists.

In April, at least five people were killed, including a seven-month-old baby and a Belgian woman, and 53 were injured when a Thai tour bus plummeted off a hillside in northern Phitsanulok province after its brakes failed.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2013-07-23

Very sad news.

RIP to the victims. It seems like there has been an unusually high number of bus and van accidents lately?

_{There is something ominous about pick-up truck in Thailand.}

_{And all these innocent victims...}

_{The10 years old on motorbikes are way less threatening....}

I've just got back to Bangkok after travelling through there this morning at about 5 am. Loads of emergency vehicles. I was still passing ambulances in convoy going the opposite way lights ablazing on Mittraparp in Autthaya. It happened between Muak Lek and Saraburi on the Saraburi side of that massive TPI chemical/concrete plant.

Words fails me, I'm lost as to what to say to such tragedy,

Really been a rough few months for public transportation across the country.

Quite scary.

Very sad news, RIP the deseased and I hope the injured make a full recovery. Why did the cement truck cross to the wrong side of the road? Did the driver fall asleep? Was the driver passing another vehicle or was he distracted by dropping something in the truck cabin that caused him to lose control of the vehicle? Perhaps if the road laws were actually enforced instead of providing a way for police pockets to be filled road safety may improve. I know accidents happen all over the world, but they seem to happen more regularly here.

Tragic,I thought when I read it was in Saraburi it was going to be a bus that I have travelled on many many times up to Lom Sak in Phetchabun,ok it wasn't but next time it could be.

Stark reminder of the dangers of these inter provincial bus routes.

Thoughts with those who died.

I've just got back to Bangkok after travelling through there this morning at about 5 am. Loads of emergency vehicles. I was still passing ambulances in convoy going the opposite way lights ablazing on Mittraparp in Autthaya. It happened between Muak Lek and Saraburi on the Saraburi side of that massive TPI chemical/concrete plant.

Yup, me too saw everything. Massive tragedy. Drove by 2 yrs ago.

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Thai highways with poor protections and signalizations + high speed careless drivers + powerful pickup engines = Fatal accidents.

Such a tragedy.... really sad news.

"The truck crossed from the opposite lane of traffic and hit the bus," said local police officer Lieutenant Colonel Assavathep Janthanari, adding that a pickup truck behind the bus had also been involved in the crash."

Read again:

This has nothing to do with the safety standards of the bus or the pick-up truck,

If a cement truck is crossing the lane from the opposite direction, no safety standards can help you anymore.

The only safety that could have avoided this tragic accident would have been safety barriers in the middle of the road.

But that would have only shift the accident to the other side of the lane.

Horrifying news. RIP to all the victims.

Makes one take pause--especially if you frequently use the buses to get around the country. They are cheap, noisy, and uncomfortable, with the added risk of a terrible crash--but they are still a great deal and a fantastic way to see the countryside.

The carnage continues.

Yes we know that road accidents happen everywhere but when you see so much reckless driver behaviour, Thailand is full of accidents waiting to happen.

I am sorry for all those people and there families. I do NOT blame the driver of the bus.

I live near a high way, a bloody damned Thai high way. Not safe at all, bad road and even 90 km/h is to fast. Busses on the way to Chiang Mai pass on a regular basis, 6 till 10 busses in a row, driving fast on the right lane, 120 till 140 km/h.

What do you think?

Words fails me, I'm lost as to what to say to such tragedy,

words fail me too one that comes to mind is"thainess"

looks as if the dead are all innocent victims[rip]

very sad indeed - RIP

Saraburi province will always remain in my memory for the accident I witnessed recently... a guy ended under a 18-wheeler truck after trying to jaywalk across the highway. He ended in bits and pieces all over 200 meters of the highway. It almost disgusted me from driving here.

Crossing over into the opposite lane on Mitraparp highway, quite an achievement.

"The truck crossed from the opposite lane of traffic and hit the bus," said local police officer Lieutenant Colonel Assavathep Janthanari, adding that a pickup truck behind the bus had also been involved in the crash."

Read again:

This has nothing to do with the safety standards of the bus or the pick-up truck,

If a cement truck is crossing the lane from the opposite direction, no safety standards can help you anymore.

The only safety that could have avoided this tragic accident would have been safety barriers in the middle of the road.

But that would have only shift the accident to the other side of the lane.

Wrong! There are many safety standards that come into play here. Was the truck overloaded? The news article says "cement truck" but we have no indication what that means. Was it an overloaded pickup? What about safety inspections for large trucks? What about driver training and qualification and standards such as keeping log books and restricting the number of hours one can drive? Those are safety standards in force in many countries. They are the law because of incidents such as this in those countries, including my own. Of course, we hear enforcement mentioned repeatedly, so I won't dwell on that. You are correct, however about the barrier, but that calls into question traffic engineering in this country. Traffic engineers here should be held accountable. They're criminally negligent.

Why did the cement truck cross to the wrong side of the road?

I must be a heartless person but this line made me smile...

We all know, deep down, that today could be our last day. Smile, enjoy, and take care.

Crossing over into the opposite lane on Mitraparp highway, quite an achievement.

Yeah, that was my thought. Isn't there a significant strip in between the lanes?

Ok, we have that problem solved. Best wishes to the families of the victims in there sorrow. We all know it is a hazard here just about everything we do can cause death or injury but isn't that part of the reason many of us are here. Very few rules you are responsible for your own safety and well being if you have had enough of being responsible for yourself you have choices.

Two in one day. Banner headlines, but little or no action on regulating the bus owners or their drivers safety standards. Stay alive tourists, don't take the bus or the trains these days.

Crossing over into the opposite lane on Mitraparp highway, quite an achievement.

Yeah, that was my thought. Isn't there a significant strip in between the lanes?

I just drove by on way to bkk 2 hrs ago. I think the report is wrong. The bus was sideways straddling the lanes going toward bkk. It was completely burned out. Those poor folks were caught in an inferno.

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19 killed and many others injured in a road accident in Saraburi
The Nation

SARABURI: -- Nineteen people were killed and 19 others were injured when a 22-wheel trailer slamed into a crowded passenger bus and burst into fire in Saraburi’s Kaengkoi district early Tuesday morning.

All the victims were passengers of the ill-fated two-deck bus, police said.

Driver of the trailer reportedly told police that he dozed off while driving on Mittaparb road in Kangkoi district at bout 4.15am.

His vehicle then ran across a barrier in the middle of the road and slamed into the bus.

-- The Nation 2013-07-23

Thai highways with poor protections and signalizations + high speed careless drivers + powerful pickup engines = Fatal accidents.

Such a tragedy.... really sad news.

Please be so kind to explain to me, and probably others, what has a collision between a cement truck, a bus and a pickup folowing the bus, to do with "powerful" truck engines.

Face it, not only pickups, but ALL cars nowadays have too much horsepower, resulting in excessive speeds and stupid reactions.

However, the roads in Thailand are suitable (just) for the official maximum speed of 90 km/h.

The real reason for the low safety on the roads in Thailand might be the hopeless driving education, the laughable obtaining of a DL and most of all the mentality of most Thai drivers.

Horrendous so many destroyed lives and opportunity’s…But until the Authority’s in Thailand (that includes all the fools who take money to vote into power corrupt incompetent idiots) give a dam NOTHING will change here

Very sad tragic but totally normal for Thailand …just another day

RIP

Yesterday, coming back from Phayao on my big bike a f...g CEMENT TRUCK came at me head on after crossing "double yellow" lines to pass a car. I had no where to go but the shoulder with about 3ft to spare. I get pissed when the idiots in the cars cross the yellow lines and come right at you. These morons love to play Russian roulette here but a cement truck???? Common sense where art thou? Not here in the Land of Shame.