11 foreign tourists injured in Kanchanaburi bus accident caused by tree cutting
Police in the central province of Kanchanaburi arrested a Thai man on January 3 for a tree cutting that caused a bus accident that injured 11 foreign tourists.
The accident involved a public bus on the Kanchanaburi-Erawan route in the Wang Dong sub-district, Mueang district of Kanchanaburi. Rescue teams provided first aid to 11 injured foreigners, four men and seven women, and rushed them to a hospital for further checks. None of the injuries were reported to be serious.
Dashcam footage from a car driving behind the bus showed it travelling at a moderate speed when the driver had to brake suddenly as a large tree unexpectedly fell onto the road.
The bus driver, 52 year old Suchart, told rescuers that he was transporting four Thai and 28 foreign passengers from the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands from the Kanchanaburi Provincial Bus Terminal to Erawan Waterfall.
As the bus approached the scene of the accident, Suchart noticed the tree falling just 5 metres ahead of him. Although he braked immediately, he was unable to avoid a collision. The bus hit a fallen tree, resulting in injuries to the passengers.
One female passenger was injured when a branch pierced through the bus window, stabbing her under the eye.
Officers from Latya Police Station arrived at the scene to investigate the cause of the tree’s fall. They encountered a suspicious man, 38 year old Wasin, parked in a pickup truck just a few metres from the accident site.
A search of his vehicle uncovered a chainsaw. Wasin confessed to cutting the tree, which led to its fall and the subsequent bus accident.
Police took Wasin to the station for questioning. Although the exact legal charge against him has yet to be confirmed, he may face charges under Section 390 of the Criminal Law for committing a reckless act leading to injury. The penalty for this offence is up to one month’s imprisonment, a fine of up to 10,000 baht, or both.
In a similar incident last April, a Thai man in Suphan Buri province lost his life after a falling tree struck his motorcycle. Another man later surrendered to police, admitting he cut down the tree, which caused the fatal accident.
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