Minivan, bus and road accidents

[caller]

Too awful for words. The fire must have taken hold very quickly, to stop most getting out. I guess as a consequence, we'll get the expected demands for improved safety, but after the usual platitudes and promises to change, nothing ever does.

RIP all those poor souls.

[PeteC]

Live video feed from Thai Rath for Thai speakers in your household.

[PeteC]

Too awful for words. The fire must have taken hold very quickly, to stop most getting out. I guess as a consequence, we'll get the expected demands for improved safety, but after the usual platitudes and promises to change, nothing ever does.

RIP all those poor souls.

And the doors jammed and stopped from opening! This today has actually made me weep, and that hasn't happened in decades. Give a moment to think of those kid's families who as we speak are learning about all this. It's terrible beyond words.

[PeteC]

Khaosod English
·
The driver of the deadly bus which caught fire, and killed more than twenty people is missing. He is believed to have fled, and has turned off his phone. His name is Samarn, 48.

[PeteC]

Khaosod English

Just before the fatal bus carrying 44 students and teachers caught fire in Pathum Thani, it had sideswiped a black Mercedes-Benz that was traveling from Rangsit to Bangkok in the far right lane, shortly after noon on Tuesday.

The insurance agent for the Mercedes revealed that the bus was moving from the middle lane and veered into their lane. It's believed this happened at the moment when one of the bus's tires exploded.

This caused the Mercedes to hit the center barrier and scrape along it for about 100 meters. The Mercedes driver quickly applied the brakes. Then, someone driving behind him called for the driver to get out of the car due to smelling gas. The driver quickly exited the vehicle. Meanwhile, the bus continued for about 400-500 meters before catching fire

[PeteC]

Thailand Mourns as School Bus Fire Claims Multiple Young Lives

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/202 ... ung-lives/

Full story as of now with photos and video.

[caller]

Report from the beeb.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0jwq ... 0XwbrMaU3A

[caller]

So the bus was a converted isuzu truck, hence the high seating position, with one row of seats, not two as initially belived, with fake Merc badges front and rear. What sort of mickey mouse company and establishment allow such a creation to become licensed? It's hard to imagine the lack of responsibility, all in the name of making a quick buck. I hope those responsible - and not just the driver - are punished accordingly.

[2dandan]

Caller,

One of PeteC’s earlier posts showed the burnt out shell of a bus I presume was the bus involved. It clearly shows 2 double rows of seating on the upper deck.

RIP to those kids and we can only hope that road safety starts to be taken seriously by the authorities here although not likely considering past events.

[caller]

Caller,

One of PeteC’s earlier posts showed the burnt out shell of a bus I presume was the bus involved. It clearly shows 2 double rows of seating on the upper deck.

That's what I thought originally, but seemingly not. From the Khaosod report:

According to the forensic team’s investigation at the scene, this vehicle had a modified body from an Isuzu truck but had Mercedes-Benz logos on the front and back. The bus was insured by Viriyah Insurance Company, which specifies a payment of 500,000 baht per deceased person.

Transport Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit said the deadly bus that caught fire is not a double-decker bus but a tall single-deck bus powered by CNG, which made it very susceptible to fire. He added that the ministry will review the use of gas-powered buses due to safety concerns.... อ่านข่าวต้นฉบับได้ที่ : https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/202 ... ung-lives/

[Ratsima]

This today has actually made me weep

Same here. I couldn't continue watching the news. Too sad.

[Ratsima]

Several Thai news stations are referring to it as the "death bus" (บัสมรณะ).

[caller]

Here's a pic of the actual bus, from Khaosod English.

[DaveQ]

This is incredibly sad, god help the poor families involved.

And even sadder is that we all know nothing will be learned from this and it will happen again.

How is something so unsafe allowed to travel on the roads at all? never mind be filled with kids.

[Dannie Boy]

This is incredibly sad, god help the poor families involved.

And even sadder is that we all know nothing will be learned from this and it will happen again.

How is something so unsafe allowed to travel on the roads at all? never mind be filled with kids.

Hopefully there might just be hope that something good might come out of this tragedy - hopefully the thoughts here will gain momentum and actually bring about vitally needed safety changes.

https://www.thaienquirer.com/53129/opin ... -than-now/