An educational trip turned disaster after over 40 individuals were left injured, killing 17, after a bus overturned while it was descending Khao San Pu Tone mountain in Prachin Buri’s Na Di district on Wednesday.
In a The Nation report, the incident took place at around 4am, when a tour bus from Phon Charoen, Bueang Khan province, went off the curve on Highway 304 during the journey to Rayong province.
The vehicle overturned and was completely damaged. Police and rescuers in the area rushed the victims to Nadi Hospital and Kabinburi Hospital for immediate medical attention.
The road is now being cleared while the investigation is underway to determine the cause of the accident.
According to its initial investigation, the accident involved the third of three tour buses carrying 47 members of the village waste bank in Phon Charoen, Bueng Kan province and two drivers.
One victim from the overturned bus said that he was forced to wake up due to the accident, as many victims were thrown into different directions.
Chayapol Sophakul, a trailer truck driver trailing the third bus said that during the accident, he found more than 40 injured passengers, which were mostly inside the vehicle. Chayapol immediately contacted police in the area.
On the other hand, Na Di district chief Somjai Phutthasena said that officials had transported around 20 injured passengers to hospitals and “feared that other passengers might not survive.” He added that road accidents often occur on the way down from Khao San Pu Tone mountain. He suspected that a malfunctioning brake system caused the accident.