Phuket bus inferno leaves one dead, 12 injured

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Phuket bus inferno leaves one dead, 12 injured
Eakkapop Thongtub


The bus caught fire about one hour after departing Phuket's main bus terminal. Photo: Eakkapop Thongthub

PHUKET: -- A 50-year-old Thai woman has died and 12 people have been injured after a bus travelling from Phuket to Satun, on the Malaysian border, caught fire in Phang Nga province, just north of the island, this morning (Oct 7).

Police and rescue workers were called to the scene, near Takua Thung Police Station, at 10:18am.

The bus left Phuket at about 9am and apparently stopped at Songpon Steel workshop in Takua Thung for minor welding repairs to a broken seat near the front of the bus, Takua Thung Police told The Phuket News.

The welding was carried out while all 21 passengers, Thai and foreign, were still onboard.

Sparks from the welding started a fire that quickly spread through the bus, prompting the passengers to cram the exit near the centre of the bus.

Local residents who rushed to help smashed bus windows to help the trapped passengers to escape.

Three people collapsed inside the bus, but were quickly recovered by people at the scene.

However, a 50-year-old Thai woman whose name has yet to be released, could not be revived. She was later pronounced dead on arrival at Phang Nga Hospital

Twelve other passengers – two men and 10 women, including one 15-year-old girl – were taken to Phang Nga Hospital for treatment of injuries sustained in escaping the blaze. Two of the injured were from Phuket.

Five remain in intensive care.

“Charges have yet to be filed and we have yet to independently confirm the cause of the fire,” one officer from Takua Thung Police told The Phuket News.

“The bus is owned and operated by Trang Ruammit Co Ltd. We are still questioning the driver and the owner of the Songpon Steel workshop about the incident.

“The bus driver said that while the seat was being welded, they forgot to disconnect the power cables from the battery, which caused a short circuit,” the officer said.

Source: http://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-bus-inferno-leaves-one-dead-12-injured-54437.php


-- Phuket News 2015-10-07

[LivinginKata]

Welding while passengers still on the bus .... doh

Thai safety standards at it's usual worst. The old Mai Pen Rai attitude, everything will be OK.

[zaphod reborn]

“The bus driver said that while the seat was being welded, they forgot to disconnect the power cables from the battery, which caused a short circuit,” the officer said.

I think what they forgot to do was to off-board the passengers to a safe locations while the welding was being done. Could have bought them a coffee or beverage as well for the inconvenience.

[LivinginKata]

Just read another Phuket blog that we cannot mention here. That news story tells that the driver stopped to fix an electrical connection under his seat. Nothing about any welding. Oh well .... who knows ...

[Sam Jones]

Hub of Idiocy ...

Safety is non starter here ...

RIP

[NamKangMan]

This would be laughable, if it wasn't so tragic.

To think, this "driver" and I use the term losely, has the lives of so many in his hands, in his bus, and in vehicles coming the other directions, is frightening.

[FBlue72]

Just read another Phuket blog that we cannot mention here. That news story tells that the driver stopped to fix an electrical connection under his seat. Nothing about any welding. Oh well .... who knows ...

I would go with the professionally run news and not the bully blog- which has made some astonishing mistakes but does not make retractions preferring to simply disappear the errors.

[stevenl]

Just read another Phuket blog that we cannot mention here. That news story tells that the driver stopped to fix an electrical connection under his seat. Nothing about any welding. Oh well .... who knows ...

I would go with the professionally run news and not the bully blog- which has made some astonishing mistakes but does not make retractions preferring to simply disappear the errors.

In my experience the bully blog is more often right than the 'professionally' run news.

[FBlue72]

Just read another Phuket blog that we cannot mention here. That news story tells that the driver stopped to fix an electrical connection under his seat. Nothing about any welding. Oh well .... who knows ...

I would go with the professionally run news and not the bully blog- which has made some astonishing mistakes but does not make retractions preferring to simply disappear the errors.

In my experience the bully blog is more often right than the 'professionally' run news.

http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket-news/One-dead-12-injured-PhuketSatun-bus-fire/62101#ad-image-0

And the gazette comes in with a borrowed welding torch which makes sense if the battery was not disconnected, it would lead to a short in the electrical system

A total of 21 passengers were on the bus, which was parked on the hard-shoulder of the Petchkasem Road, in Phang Nga province, while the 54-year-old driver, Prathueng Sakkaew, used a borrowed welding torch to fix his seat.

Edited October 7, 2015 by FBlue72

[robertthebruce]

Unfortunately this kind of Incident bothers us big time, and once again the ''Safety'' Aspect..

But for ''Thais'' its just an everyday, happening... and they say ''Nowt''.. like water of a ducks back...

Sad but True...

[NamKangMan]

Unfortunately this kind of Incident bothers us big time, and once again the ''Safety'' Aspect..

But for ''Thais'' its just an everyday, happening... and they say ''Nowt''.. like water of a ducks back...

Sad but True...

The cheapest employee they can find, with a piece of plastic that he probably paid a bribe to get, called a licence.

That's the person you get in charge of heavy vehicles, including large buses, in Thailand.

Truly 3rd World, when they could easily do so much better.

It's a disgrace.

Edited October 7, 2015 by NamKangMan

[fstarbkk]

In the real world this would be called "criminally negligent homicide".

[KMartinHandyman]

Just read another Phuket blog that we cannot mention here. That news story tells that the driver stopped to fix an electrical connection under his seat. Nothing about any welding. Oh well .... who knows ...

I would go with the professionally run news and not the bully blog- which has made some astonishing mistakes but does not make retractions preferring to simply disappear the errors.

In my experience the bully blog is more often right than the 'professionally' run news.

http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket-news/One-dead-12-injured-PhuketSatun-bus-fire/62101#ad-image-0

And the gazette comes in with a borrowed welding torch which makes sense if the battery was not disconnected, it would lead to a short in the electrical system

A total of 21 passengers were on the bus, which was parked on the hard-shoulder of the Petchkasem Road, in Phang Nga province, while the 54-year-old driver, Prathueng Sakkaew, used a borrowed welding torch to fix his seat.

And the issue was with the drivers seat as I couldn't imagine any repair of a passengers seat mid flight.

[jollyranchers]

The bus driver said that while the seat was being welded, they forgot to disconnect the power cables from the battery, which caused a short circuit, the officer said.

I think what they forgot to do was to off-board the passengers to a safe locations while the welding was being done. Could have bought them a coffee or beverage as well for the inconvenience.

you dont know thai bus drivers?8

they drive 5 hours the wrong way to pick up a customer who for 40 baht ,no way they will fork out a coffee for passengers.

[LoZth]

As for the safety factor of unloading the passengers while the welding was done, waste of time.

I've been on the mini-van (I have to, the big buses don't run from Nong Mon any more!) a number of times to Pattaya, and we've had to pull in to gas up.

We all have to get off while this is done for 'safety'.

Most of the Thai's don't move away, they just hang about at the side of the van next to the pump!

So much for safety!

[springheeled jack]

closing the stable door after the horse has gone seems to be prevalent throughout Thailand the people should have got off the bus while the welding was done, I wonder how many people actually get to use their brains .

[gandalf12]

Forgetting the incident which is tragic, it says a lot about the level of maintenance that the company employed

[tuanku]

To keep things in perspective, he did pull over and stop the vehicle while his seat was welded rather than have his mate do it as he was driving. That counts as safety............... doesn't it?

[stevenl]

Apparently one more died from injuries sustained and three more are in coma.

Really sad.

[cookee68]

Are these people real, or is this a joke, welding with people still on the bus, what a joke