nationmultimedia.com wrote:30 passengers evacuated in bus fire
Khon Kaen accident echoes Saraburi tragedy that left 30 dead, 23 injured
All 30 passengers escaped unhurt after their bus caught fire in Khon Kaen yesterday, just days after a similar incident on a Bangkok-bound coach in Saraburi left 30 passengers dead and dozens injured.
The bus, travelling from Nakhon Ratchasima to Udon Thani, was passing through Khon Kaen's Ban Had sub-district on the Mitraparp Highway at 3.30pm when its engine caught fire. Fearing a repeat of the Saraburi mishap, the driver promptly pulled over and evacuated all the passengers safely.
Meanwhile, the president of the Private Bus Operators' Association, Sujinda Cherdchai, has objected to the Land Transport Department's proposal to retire buses after 10 years of use and to have them undergo checks every two years, which were made amid claims that the Saraburi accident was caused by mechanical problems arising from the bus's age.
Sujinda, the owner of Thailand's biggest bus-assembly garage, insisted that disposing of buses after only 10 years was not practical and conducting inspections every two years was unnecessary because operators already conducted regular checks. The greater number of checks would affect maintenance expenses and subsequently bus fares, she said.
Sujinda urged the department to inform the association of its proposed measures and organise a meeting of bus-operators nation-wide to discuss them.
While condoling with the victims' families, Sujinda said punishment should fall upon individuals. Her association will help pay the lawyers' fees in a lawsuit to demand compensation for the victims, she said.
Meanwhile, Nakhon Ratchasima transport official Anusorn Withurakorn said his office would tighten checks on the condition of buses and increase tests on drivers' blood-alcohol levels.
to prevent a reoccurrence of the tragedy, especially during the Songkran Festival next month. Buses that fail the checks will be suspended from service immediately, he said.
In an update on the 23 passengers injured in the Saraburi accident, the Public Health Ministry yesterday said eight critically wounded patients were stable but still suffering from fever and tissue death and being watched for infections.
Bangkok's Siriraj Hospital morgue has released 14 bodies to relatives.
Manee Buriram, who received the body of her 16-year-old son Wittaya yesterday, said she would not take him yet pending a search for her eight-year-old son Arthit, who has yet to be identified among the remaining 15 charred bodies.
Manee said she had been working in Bangkok and her two sons, who lived with their grandparents in Maha Sarakham, were to visit her during a school break. "I still can't believe that I've lost both my sons at once," she said.
Permanent Secretary of the Transport Ministry Chaisawat Kittipornpaiboon yesterday said that a meeting would be held on Monday to conclude the cause of the Saraburi accident. Authorities will then decide if Sri Sa-nguan Yanyont Co's concession should be revoked.
The bus company's services have been suspended for a week.
Piyapan Jampasut, deputy permanent secretary of the Ministry of Transport, said the company's four coaches on the Ubon Ratchathani-Bangkok route had no history of serious accidents. It had sent the ill-fated coach for a check-up on March 15, which showed it did not ignore safety issues, he said.
The company has already been found guilty of carrying about 60 passengers when the legal limit is 45, he said.
He added that the accident-probe findings and the bus company's fate would be announced on April 19 at the board meeting of Transport Co, the state-run body that oversees inter-provincial bus services nationwide.
