11 Dead in Minibus Crash Between Pattaya & Bangkok

[thaiworthy]

4am – Breaking News: Eleven people have been killed after becoming trapped in a passenger minibus that overturned and caught fire on the Pattaya to Bangkok motorway last night.

The accident, that happened at 9pm on Friday 10, claimed the lives of eleven people who were unable to free themselves from the burning vehicle. The Disaster Mitigation and Prevention Department of the Interior Ministry issued a brief statement in the early hours of June 11.

The department statement confirms there are four survivors who managed to climb out of the wreckage as the fire took hold. Rescuers of the Trikhunnatham Foundation in Chon Buri have taken three of them to the Chalurat Hospital and the fourth to Chon Buri Hospital.

Witnesses say the van overturned after one of its tires burst.

http://pattayaone.net/pattaya-news/2251 ... a-bangkok/

Don't ride in these things, under any circumstances. Usually, they pack you in like sardines with your luggage in your lap. Mostly they drive too fast and too hazardously to recover from things like a burst tire. Dangerous would be an understatement.

Update:

The mini-bus that crashed last night, claiming eleven lives, belonged to the Kumklao Sakola School, in the Min Buri district of west Bangkok, and was carrying teachers home from a seminar in Rayong.

A witness, in a following vehicle, says the right rear tyre of the mini bus exploded, causing it to crash into the central reservation before overturning and bursting into flames. Another witness to the horror has informed Pattaya One that the minibus ended up on its side with the sliding exit door to the road surface trapping the victims inside.

Firefighters were quickly on the scene but still took over thirty minutes to control and put out the blaze. Eventually rescue services were able to recover eleven bodies from the wreckage.

The victims included one male and ten females, one of whom was an eight-year old student of the school. They have all now been identified.

The survivors are named as Miss Sudhitham Siriporn, (25) who escaped with minor injuries and has been allowed home, Ms The Nipapor (25) who is pregnant and suffered bruising, Miss Perlie Bihag, a 45-year old English teacher who has a broken leg and Ms Nat Kul, (52) who is said to have been driving, who has bruising to her body.

Each of the victim’s relatives have now been informed and, in some cases, bodies have been released to families and are on their way back to the provinces for burial.

http://pattayaone.net/pattaya-news/2252 ... a-bangkok/

[thaiworthy]

Since we're on the subject of van transportation, I might point out there are minivans that leave from Ekkamai to to Pattaya. There are two windows, one sells tickets for the vans and one for the buses. Use window one and make sure you get a bus ticket. Then be prepared a for a new twist on the bus ride. I experienced this just last month. They stop for gas just 10 minutes from the Northern Bus Terminal! They made everyone get off the bus while they fueled up. Lots of vendors selling stuff and a Family Mart, so I assume the pit stop was to enable sales of food and drinks. Then back on the bus a half-hour later.

Trongpai suggested I do what he does. Use the Airport Pattaya Bus. Thanks, Trongpai.

http://airportpattayabus.com

[windwalker]

Not long ago I went to Ekhamai for the bus to Pattaya and bought a ticket on the mini van rather than the bus. After sitting on the van for several minutes waiting for departure I realized my mistake as a very dangerous situation and crawled out of it and bought another ticket on the larger bus. . At that time the big bus did go directly to the terminal in Pattaya.

Oddly enough, while sitting in the mini van I noticed that the driver and someone else checking out the tires which made me believe they were defective. As Thaiworthy writes, don't ever ride in one of these things.

[Trongpai]

How can just a blown tire flip a vehicle and set it on fire? I am sure that the Thailand Transportation Ministry along with safety experts and accident reconstruction experts will be working overtime for answers

When I drive on the highway I try to give these mini-buses a wide berth as they tend to make erratic unsignaled lane changes. I was in a mini-bus a few weeks ago sitting in front (safer?) and the driver barrelling down the highway, counting money, doing some paperwork using the dash as a desk, eating lunch and talking on his cell phone simultaneously.

As for the big buses being safer, I guess but..... Last month returning to Bangkok from Pattaya on the airport bus the driver kept drifting out of his lane and cars were honking at him. Then he kissed the center guard rail a few times and one of the passengers went forward to investigate and found the driver half asleep. One of the Thai ladies on the bus volunteered to stand next to the driver and keep an eye on him. Every time he nodded off she whacked him behind the head and he woke up and thanked her. When we arrived in Bangkok safe all the passengers gave the lady wacker a round of applause.

Both at Ekkamai and Morchit there's a window for the big bus, window number one, the first one on the right as you enter the building. Official looking people, really mini bus touts, try to hijack you before you see window number one, signed, Pattaya. Ekkamai has something like 40 bus stalls for 40 locations and every stall has a separate window for tickets; a system of inefficiently that always has me amused. Every bus station in Thailand operates this way.

Another tip I have is to look at who's in line in front of you and if it's some fat or smelly get out of line and wait until there's someone that is thin and looks clean (or a cute Thai boy) as the seat numbers are pretty much assigned in order. Avoid the seats over the rear tires, near the toilet or in the rear, #40 and higher. The closer to the front is best.

[windwalker]

How can just a blown tire flip a vehicle and set it on fire?

Easy for a vehicle to flip with a blowout. See this video. As for fire, both gasoline and propane are highly flammable and all it takes is a source of ignition such as a spark, cigarette, etc.

As for the big bus, one time noticed that excess baggage was loaded into the area in front of toilet thus blocking access to that and also to the emergency exit. This on bus with toilet on the side, not in the rear.

[Jun]

These Asian style minibuses also tend to be narrower than the European ones, which must increase the tendency to roll over.

If a tyre goes on a tight bend where there is not much space left, even a skilled driver will do well to avoid an accident. Whilst the motorway from Pattaya to Bangkok doesn't have what I would consider to be tight bends, I could easily envisage the combination of a blow out and a half wit Thai bus driver causing one to land on it's roof.

On the whole, I prefer the larger buses, as the slightly slower speeds and larger mass mean the chances of surviving an accident should be better. Also, my worst experiences of crap customer service, lateness & dangerous driving have been with Thai minibuses.

As for unnecessary stops, well there are 2 ways to deal with that -(i) Name and shame the bus companies & (ii) Keep your wallet firmly in your pocket. If you must get some water, try to walk a little and not buy it of the people they intend you to use.
I suppose what Thailand needs is some entrepreneurs to set up branded national bus companies that run efficient reliable bus services from A to B, with clean on board toilets & absolutely NO unnecessary stops.

[Oliver]

I'd be interested to know whether there are any laws relating to tread-depth and tyre condition generally in Thailand...and if so, whether they are enforced. The first time I stood at Ekamai and had a close-up view of tyres on the buses filled me with horror.

[Gaybutton]

I'd be interested to know whether there are any laws relating to tread-depth and tyre condition generally in Thailand.

Yes and no. When a car goes for annual inspection, if the tread depth is too bald, the car fails inspection. The trouble with that is cars are not required to go for inspection until they are 9 years old. That is the only enforcement I'm aware of.

For public transportation vehicles such as taxis and buses, I have no idea. All I can say is before bus, van, or whatever, have a look yourself. If the vehicle appears to be in unsafe condition, find another way to get where you're trying to go.

[Trongpai]

I went to a driving school once where there was a blow out simulator. The key is to keep steering to keep the car on the road straight and don't over steer or apply heavy breaks. I see lots of cars and trucks disabled and upright on the side of the road with blow outs. Just the blow out alone will not flip a car. You have to do something else, drive down an incline, steer sharply and hit the brakes or hit something.

http://www.wikihow.com/Handle-a-Tyre-Burst

[Alex]

I went to a driving school once where there was a blow out simulator. The key is to keep steering to keep the car on the road straight and don't over steer or apply heavy breaks.

There's no hope that a significant number of Thai bus and van drivers will ever know that. Not falling asleep behind the wheel or otherwise losing control of their vehicle already looks like a challenge for many, sans blown out tyre.