Boy and his father killed, 23 injured in Chinese tourist bus accident on Phuket
A bus transporting Chinese tourists overturned on a notorious downhill Patong road late Monday night, killing a 10-year-old boy and his father and injuring 23 Chinese tourists and one Thai tour guide.
The accident prompted acting Chinese Consulate-General in Phuket, Ma Cui Hong, to call for more safety measures for tourist buses as two similar crashes have occurred in the past 10 days.
Police said the accident happened at about 11pm on Monday on Phisit Road near Wat Suwankhiriwong, which is the Patong Beach-bound downhill road from Patong mountain.
The bus with 33 people on board – including 25 Chinese tourists, six Thai guides and the bus driver and his wife – flipped after it hit motorcycles parked on the side of the road in front of houses.
Police said the 10-year-old Ly Jle Ru died inside the bus, while his father Lyu Pel, 36 was pronounced dead at Vajira Phuket Hospital.
Four of the injured were in serious condition in hospital while the rest were released.
The bus driver, Krittaporn Nualtua, 36, a Phuket resident, said he was taking the tourists to a Patong hotel when the brake system on the bus malfunctioned as they were going downhill.
He said the bus built up speed and he lost control and the bus crashed into motorcycles then flipped on its side.
The uninjured bus driver tested negative for drug and alcohol use.
Patong Superintendant Pol Colonel Thassanai Olarnrikdech said police were attempting to determine whether the accident was caused by recklessness or another factor.
The curved, steep section of road has seen many fatal accidents. On June 29, a bus transporting Chinese tourists hit and killed a motorcyclist after the brakes on the bus failed.
Phuket governor Norapat Plodthong who visted the injured tourists on Tuesday morning said that the crash was due to a brake malfunction at the downhill curve which had seen three accidents this year.
Norapat said he would discuss with related agencies and traffic police how best to prevent a re-occurance of the fatality.
Norapat also met with acting Chinese Consulate-General in Phuket, Ma Cui Hong, who thanked the province and related agencies for aiding the tourists. She was concerned that the same location had seen two crashes in the past 10 days and urged the province to take measures to make the road safer.