Tests needed to identify many victims of bus crash

Forensic experts are working to identify victims whose bodies were burnt beyond recognition after a horror bus crash in Kaeng Khoi in Saraburi early yesterday.
The tragedy, which claimed 19 lives, has prompted Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt to consider additional measures such as safety briefings for people on interprovincial buses.
The Roi Et-Bangkok bus, operated by Transport Co Ltd, was travelling on Mittraphap Road – the main route to the Northeast – when it was hit by a trailer-truck going the opposite direction, which ran across a safety island and crashed into it. The impact caused the two-level bus to catch fire.
As well as the 19 deaths, some 20 passengers were injured. Most of those killed died inside the bus and their bodies were burnt.
“Preliminary investigation suggests the driver of the trailer-truck fell asleep behind the wheel,” Pol First Lieutenant Assavathep Jantanaree, an officer at Kaeng Khoi police station, said.
Truckdriver Sa-ard Boonyang, 29, survived the accident and is being treated at the Kaeng Khoi Hospital.
At press time, officials had only identified six of the dead. Saraburi volunteers with the Ruamkatanyu Foundation said the bus driver was among those killed.
Institute of Forensic Medicine (IFM) commander Pol Maj-General Dr Pornchai Suthirakhun said autopsies would determine if the deceased died before flames reached them.
“The level of carbon monoxide in their bodies will be the key indicator,” he said.
For victims with dental records, he said the identification process could be completed within one day.
“For victims without dental records, the process will be longer because it involves DNA testing of their parents or children,” Pornchai said. With the DNA tests, the process could be done within 48 hours.
Parichat Boonmueang, 31, said she was able to identify the body of her supervisor Sakhon Sawasdiphon from a ring he wore.
“He made a phone call to his elder sister right after the accident took place. He told her that he was trapped inside the bus,” she said.
Chadchart said the GPS record showed that the bus was travelling at a speed of 78 kilometres an hour at the time of the accident.
“That’s not very fast,” he said.
While he did not think the crash occurred because of any fault of the bus firm, he said he would meet with the company’s top executive today to discuss on safety measures for buses.
Transport Co Ltd is a state enterprise under the supervision of the Transport Ministry.
“We will discuss on additional safety measures. Perhaps, we can improve the design of emergency-exit doors or provide safety briefings to passengers the way flight passengers do once they get on an aircraft,” the minister said.
Chadchart said the bus firm and Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department had been instructed to set up a centre to take care of crash victims and their relatives. “Kaeng Khoi police station serves as the coordination centre,” he said.