PHOTOS: Phuket Traffic Report VIDEO: Provided by Newshawk Phuket

The tour bus accident on Patong yesterday afternoon, the third such incident in the same spot within 24 hours, has caused three injuries and with vehicles damaged as the bus careered down the hill, out of control. There were 10 tourists on the bus who were shaken by the incident but unharmed.

The Patong Police heard about the incident, adjacent to the Suwankeereewong Temple (Wat Patong) on Phra Baramee Road, the bottom of Patong Hill, just after 3.30pm yesterday.

Police and Kusoldharm rescue workers arrived to find damaged vehicles including a tour bus, passenger vans, trucks, cars and pickups – a total of 12 vehicles.

The three injuries were a van driver and two motorbike drivers. They were taken to Patong and Vachira Phuket Hospitals.

The 27 year old bus driver Pantarit Kaewprawat told police that he was driving down the hill when other vehicles in front of him were braking suddenly. So he tried to avoid the collision with others vehicles in front of him by veering right into oncoming traffic.

Police are continuing their investigation and inspecting local CCTV footage and available dash cam footage (like the one below). In the footage, the bus is traveling, at speed, in the on-coming traffic lane, seemingly unable to stop.

Chalong Police are trying to track down a foreign man caught on camera carrying a sea star along Chalong Pier.

Chalong Police are checking CCTV footage at the Chalong Pier to find the foreign man who was caught on camera carrying sea stars in a plastic bag along the pier on Tuesday.

Read more about the story HERE.

Khanchit Klingklip, who posted the story on his Facebook and a member of Healthy Reef Club, met with Chalong Police yesterday to give more information about the incident.

Chalong Police say they have to find the tourist in order to identify where he found the sea star as each area has different law enforcement. However the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) Phuket Office hasn’t filed a report to police as yet.

Khun Khanchit says, “We asked the tourist for the sea star so we could return it to the sea on the same day.”

PHOTO: Thailand Tourism Forum 2019

One of the key points made at the recently concluded Thailand Tourism Forum 2019 in Bangkok, was the country’s over reliance on mass tourism.

Jesper Palmqvist of STR presented full year hotel data for Phuket which showed signs of recovery, yet highlighting the full impact of the drop in Chinese business after the July boat tragedy.

Citing the number’s co-organiser of the event C9 Hotelworks Bill Barnett expressed concern that while airlift numbers remain positive, the massive impact of unlicensed accommodation on the Thai hotel sector was adding to the supply demand equation.

Bill said, “While many hotel owners are asking where have all the tourist arrivals gone, in many cases the answer is they are staying  in a condo or villa that does not have to comply with the same regulations that hotels are required to and this grey sector is adding to this year’s tourism challenges.”