7 killed, 31 hurt in Prachin bus crash
Seven people were killed and 31 others injured when a twin-deck bus drove off a mountainous road in Na Di district in Prachin Buri early yesterday, police said.
One of the dead was a foreigner, identified as Alan Thomas O'Conner, 60, they said. His nationality was unknown. The Nong Khai-Rayong coach was carrying 50 passengers when it veered off the road and plunged 10 metres down a hill, Na Di police Major Mongkol Janploy said. The accident happened at 2.20am yesterday. Rescue workers freed the injured from the coach and transported them to Wang Nam Khiew Hospital. The seriously injured were transferred to Maharaj Hospital in Nakhon Ratchasima province. It took workers 90 minutes to retrieve the dead after a crane hauled the coach back to the road. A post-mortem of the bodies will be conducted at Na Di Hospital. Bus driver Jirapat Waipantha, 44, said he veered to avoid a car while travelling down a hill, causing the coach to overturn. He has been charged with reckless driving causing death, injury and property damage. Passengers Pichet Sampaothong, 23, and Anan Sokhamkaew, 44, said the bus was travelling at speed when the driver veered suddenly to the right. Patcharin Jandathep, 27, who collected the body of sister Pornnarin Sriaran, 23, said she had been travelling from Khon Kaen to visit relatives in Rayong for Songkran. In related news, a collision between a coach and a pickup at Hua Sai in Nakhon Si Thammarat late on Monday night killed seven and injured one. Police said the pickup swerved in front of the bus, travelling from Bangkok to Hat Yai.
The Nation PRACHIN BURI
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