Fatal bus crash promises lottery luck

NAKHON RATCHASIMA: To most people, a fatal road accident would not be a sign of good fortune, but villagers in Dan Khun Thot district were driven to an outburst of lottery fever when they hoped that the remains of a bus that had crashed in the area would reveal lucky lottery numbers.

The phenomenon was sparked when a bus from Bangkok to Sri Chiang Mai and an 18-wheeler collided on August 27, killing four people. The remains of the bus were then placed outside the local police station.

However, local youngsters soon reported seeing ghosts in the vehicle, so the superintendent called in monks to appease the spirits so that they would rest in peace and not bother the living.

Word of the haunted bus spread and on August 31 villagers flocked to the police station to note the registration plate and look for other potentially-auspicious numbers on the bus, which they hoped would appear in the next day’s monthly lottery draw.

Many people lit incense and some sprinkled powder over parts of the bus near to where the people who lost their lives had been sitting. Little success was reported though, with the only significant find coming from a young woman who said she had seen the number 58 appear clearly in the powder. The number was duly noted down.

Local gamblers told reporters that underground lottery operators had stopped accepting bets on numbers connected to the bus. Others were apparently taking bets but said they would only pay out half the usual winnings.

None of the government lottery ticket vendors who rushed to the scene had those numbers available either. They told reporters that someone had already bought all the tickets with the lucky figures on them.

Locals gamblers had to resort to telephoning relatives in other provinces, asking them to buy tickets on their behalf.