Patong minivan crash injures four tourists and a driver

A Patong minivan crash injured four tourists and a driver. The crash happened when one minivan transporting foreign tourists crashed into another one on the road connecting Patong Beach and Kamala in Phuket. The accident occurred on Phra Baramee Road yesterday, at 11.35am.

According to MGR Online, the accident occurred when one minivan drove out of its lane and collided with the other. The van that drove out of its lane was coming from the Kamala sub-district to Patong Beach, and carrying seven tourists. The van’s driver injured his leg, and four tourists in his van were also injured. Rescuers had to cut off the driver’s door to get him out of the van. All injured people were taken to Patong Hospital.

The van that the first minivan hit had been carrying two tourists and was heading toward Phuket International Airport. Luckily, no one in this van was injured.

The authorities coordinated a new vehicle to pick up the tourists who were heading to the airport, and they were able to travel back to their country safely.

The crash occurred just hours after another crash on Phra Baramee Road yesterday.

At around 5am, a tour bus crashed into a power pole on Patong Hill, with the driver suffering serious injuries to his leg. The bus slammed into a power pole on the final curve heading into Patong. The bus driver, 37 year old Prayoon Nayao, had serious leg injuries, with bone protruding. The rescuers gave him first aid before rushing him to Patong Hospital.

The Thailand Road Safety Committee (ThaiRSC) reported in January that as many as 939,713 road accidents were reported in Thailand last year, up 4.7% from 2021. Road accidents killed 14,737 people, and injured 924,799 last year, ThaiRSC said. The committee reported that 536 deaths and 7,885 injuries were among foreigners.

Meanwhile, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department’s Road Safety Centre reported 2,440 road accidents during the annual “7 dangerous days” (December 29 to January 4) when people head to their hometowns to mark the new year.

During this time there were 2,437 injuries and 317 deaths, with Surat Thani having the highest number of accidents at 79 and Kanchanaburi with the highest number of injuries at 81. Chiang Rai recorded the most deaths at 15.