Phuket visa run van wipeout: 3 dead, 7 injured

[webfact]

Phuket visa run van wipeout: 3 dead, 7 injured

Phuket News

 

At least two Russians are dead after the visa-run van slid off a bend and slammed into a house in Thap Put, Phang Nga, at 7:30am.

 

PHUKET: -- At least three people are dead and seven more are injured after a visa run van from Phuket slammed into house in Phang Nga this morning (Dec 21). 

 

Among the dead are two Russian men, police said.

 

The van slid off a bend and slammed into a house in Muang District* at 7:30am.

 

The van was carrying 10 people from Phuket to Satun on a visa run operated by Phuket-based KBV Visa Run, said Capt Chatree Pienkhayai of the Phang Nga City Police.

 

In the van were Thai nationals, Russians and at least one Indonesian, he said.

 

Two Russians and one “Asian national” woman were reported dead at the scene when emergency first-responders arrived.

 

Full story: http://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-visa-run-van-wipeout-3-dead-7-injured-60336.php

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2016-12-21

 

 

[Rhys]

RIP  

[Guest]

Phuket + Van or other 'professional driver' = death... This happens way too often. 

 

It would be nice if Article 44 could be used to take the control of the roads down here. Phuket and I guess whole Southern Thailand traffic is absolute madness and had gotten worse year by year. 

[craigt3365]

Wow.  That's a nasty looking crash.  They should close that company down.  Unfortunately, it'll just pop up again under another name. 

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

Wow.  That's a nasty looking crash.  They should close that company down.  Unfortunately, it'll just pop up again under another name. 

It wouldn't solve the issue, which is the culture of road traffic in Phuket. Pure selfishness on the roads. Speeding and overtakings in corners, overtakings in high speed on the left... 

[tirekicker]

Driving on the roads here in Phuket is becoming more scary by the day and the authorities seem to do nothing other than bury their heads. 

[steve187]

RIP

changing Thai drivers will always be an uphill struggle, lots of reasons,  lack of enforcement of traffic rules, drivers hours, road design, and more important the 'Professional" drivers mind set

use sec 44 to bring the immigration laws up to date and stop all these border runs.

 

 

[cornishcarlos]

Driving on the roads here in Phuket is becoming more scary by the day and the authorities seem to do nothing other than bury their heads. 

Its not just Phuket, the whole of Thailand is the same...
I reckon less than half the accidents make any form of news story, so the true carnage is much greater than we ever see in the media (Thai or English)

[mortenaa]

Speedlock at 100km/h

[steve187]

lost control on a bend in the wet, so not his fault. - how was he to know vehicles slide in the wet on bends

[fruitman]

What's the use of going over the border and coming back an hour later? Why not make it possible to pay at the immigration to get that stamp?

 

 

[SaintLouisBlues]

7 minutes ago, fruitman said:

What's the use of going over the border and coming back an hour later? Why not make it possible to pay at the immigration to get that stamp?

You've forgotten the cardinal principle of life in Asia - form matters far more than substance. You must be seen to be doing something, however pointless. It's the basic principle of "face"

[Soupdragon]

Just heard from a friend who was in that van that the hospital will not allow her to transfer to Phuket until she provides her insurance details. Sounds like the van company were not insured.

[Psimbo]

Glad I don't have to do visa runs any more. The drivers used to scare the poop out of me.

[Shot]

I took KBV......ONE time. Two full KBV mini buses were racing each other all the way to and from Ranong. Scary as heck. Never had a problem with EVE, and then I gave up mini buses when I discovered planes to KL.

[webfact]

Two Russian and an Asian tourists died in van crash in Phang Nga

 

 

PHUKET: -- Two Russian and an Asian tourists were killed and seven others seriously injured when a passenger van crashed into house on the highway from Phuket to Satun early this morning.

 

Heavy rain was blamed for the accident which happened on the Phang Nga-Tappud road at 7.30 am today.

 

The van was taking about 15 passengers who included Thais, Russians and Indonesians from Phuket to Satun.

 

As the van arrived at the sharp curve of the road amid heavy rain, it lost balance and flipped over and crashed into a power pole and the house.

 

Three died inside the badly damaged van, and the others injured, seven in serious condition.

 

Full story: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/two-russian-asian-tourists-died-van-crash-phang-nga/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2016-12-21

[Old Croc]

Another tragic accident caused by the weather, not the driver.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, craigt3365 said:

Wow.  That's a nasty looking crash.  They should close that company down.  Unfortunately, it'll just pop up again under another name. 

 

Ditto... Seen lots of very BAD crash photos in my years here. But the one above with the OP has got to rank among the worst.

 

Even so, just another day in "paradise."  Stay off the roads, and stay safe.

 

[stevenl]

25 minutes ago, Soupdragon said:

Just heard from a friend who was in that van that the hospital will not allow her to transfer to Phuket until she provides her insurance details. Sounds like the van company were not insured.

I would not be so fast with that conclusion. Very likely they were insured, but the hospital is not taking any chances and wants to be sure they will get paid. Hope your friend recovers well.

[webfact]

Three foreigners killed in early morning visa run van crash

Phuket Gazette 

 

          

Rescue workers sort through the carnage. Photo: Phang Nga Rescue Team

 

PHUKET: -- Three foreigners died and six others were seriously injured when the van they were travelling in crashed into a house in Phang Nga this morning. 

The foreigners were on their way from Phuket to Satun for a visa run with KBV Phuket Visa Run company, when the van crashed in Bang Tuey sub-district. 

Police and emergency responders rushed to the scene of the accident.

 

Full story: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket-news/Three-foreigners-killed-early-morning-visa-run/66020?desktopversion#ad-image-0

 

-- © Copyright Phuket Gazette 2016-12-21

[Soupdragon]

5 minutes ago, stevenl said:

I would not be so fast with that conclusion. Very likely they were insured, but the hospital is not taking any chances and wants to be sure they will get paid. Hope your friend recovers well.

 

Could be, but you expect a company rep to be on hand to sort that out. Just a second, I forgot where I am.

[Cuchulainn]

I hope that bastard driver is crippled for life 

[Wanderer555]

1 hour ago, steve187 said:

lost control on a bend in the wet, so not his fault. - how was he to know vehicles slide in the wet on bends

While true, I think it is more important to understand that if the 'House' had not been built on that particular corner, this sad event may never of happened...The house is clearly at fault here!

 

My condolences to the families of those who lost there lives, and a speedy recovery to those who were injured

Edited December 21, 2016 by Wanderer555

[overherebc]

Are the van/minibus engines altered in any way to increase performance? When I was doing runs in my car they would sometimes go past me as though I was standing still, I have been passed by them when I was doing 120kph.

Sad that lives are being lost.

Edited December 21, 2016 by overherebc

[madmitch]

In this instance we should get some proper eyewitness accounts from those fortunate survivors of the incident, instead of the usual speculation.

[IMA_FARANG]

In 1979 on my first trip from Bangkok to Phuket with my then Thai girlfriend by bus I woke up somewhere in the hills to find two tour buses, mine and another  racing each other side by side on a two lane mountain road with all the bus staff cheering the drivers on.

Wat the hell i thought, what can i do.

So I  just went back to sleep.

 

 

[kannot]

i  see it  had  a TRD sticker  on it

[LivinginKata]

32 minutes ago, overherebc said:

Are the van/minibus engines altered in any way to increase performance? When I was doing runs in my car they would sometimes go past me as though I was standing still, I have been passed by them when I was doing 120kph.

Sad that lives are being lost.

 

The drivers just gun up the speed and don't use the brakes ... just press on as fast as possible and don't worry about the consequences.

[sebastion]

I'm Sorry to say that I'm not surprised or even shocked.
This is inevitable and will happen again.
Visa runs is a blight on the immigration system. A corrupt avenue for cash.

Sent from my EVA-L19 using Tapatalk

[sebastion]

i  see it  had  a TRD sticker  on it

He was hoping for some Toyota racing development to happen in the turn. Stickers don't work that way unfortunately.

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