Shocking moment British teenagers are injured when tree crashes into moving bus in Thailand
This is the shocking moment three British teenagers were injured after a tree crashed onto their moving bus in Thailand.
The trio of young women were among 11 injured after the incident in which the entire trunk of a sagebrush tree smashed onto the roof of a bus in Kanchanaburi.
A 19-year-old from London, another 19-year-old from Welwyn Garden City and an 18-year-old from Oxford were on board the 54-year-old vehicle when the tree fell.
Nail-biting footage taken by a car driving behind the bus shows the tree slowly collapsing onto the roof of the bus.
According to local reports, it had been cut down with a chainsaw by an illegal logger.
The driver of the blue bus slid the vehicle down the road as the holidaymakers on board screamed in fear and came down a hill just meters away.
When police arrived on the scene, they found 36 passengers inside, adding that 11, including the British women, were rushed to hospital for treatment.
Police Lt. Col. Maneephat Pengklet, an investigator at Lat Ya Police Station, said police were informed of the accident at 10 a.m. on Friday.
A trio of female teenagers were among 11 injured after an incident in which an entire trunk of a sagebrush tree struck the roof of a bus in Kanchanaburi.
A 19-year-old from London, another 19-year-old from Welwyn Garden City and an 18-year-old from Oxford were on board the 54-year-old vehicle when the tree fell.
Most passengers suffered minor injuries and have since been released from hospital
Dashcam footage from a moving car captured at the moment the tree collapsed
He said: “A blue Benz passenger van was found at the scene on Highway No. 3199.
“He was on his way to Erawan Waterfall and a sagebrush tree on the side of the road had fallen on it. The windshield was shattered.
‘At least thirty foreign passengers were found during the first inspection. Ten people were injured due to broken glass and broken branches.’
The injured were taken to the local Synphaet hospital for treatment.
Most passengers suffered minor injuries and have since been discharged.
A Canadian tourist, Jaime Michelle Mitchell, 45, was taken to the ICU with a neck splint.
Land transport official Thawatchai Wiriyajit said he will pay the patients’ hospital bills.
According to local reports, the tree had been cut down by an illegal logging operation using a chainsaw
The windshield of the bus was completely destroyed
Police arrived on the scene and found 36 passengers inside. They said 11 had been taken to hospital for treatment
Authorities said the fallen tree was reportedly surrounded by piles of sawdust and showed signs of having been cut with tools.
Paitoon Inthabut, head of the Salak Phra Wildlife Sanctuary, said rangers had been dispatched to track down the suspect, who was believed to live not far from the area.
He said: “We found out that someone was cutting down a tree illegally, which caused the accident. We already have suspects in mind.’
Police later arrested 39-year-old Wasin, who was found storing tree sawing tools in his white Isuzu pickup.
Police also found a document confirming that he sold wood.
Athisak Intra, governor of Kanchanaburi province, said he has ordered a thorough investigation into the incident.