Capt Somkiet Hwantae of the Chalong Police was informed of an accident on Kata hill at 7:50am today (Jan 26) where it was reported that a bus had crashed into a concrete barrier on a bend on Patak Rd (Kata hill).
Police arrived at the scene to find a Bangkok registered tour bus leaning on its side against a concrete road barrier.
Capt Somkiet said, “There were 16 Indian tourists on the bus and they had to be rescued by Phuket Ruamjai Kupai rescue workers.
“None of the passengers were seriously injured, however, they were all taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital as a precaution,” he said.
“A forklift truck had to be brought to the scene to put the bus upright and officials from the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office from Chalong scattered sand over the road to cover the spilled oil.”
According to Capt Somkiet, the driver of the bus, 33-year-old Mr Jiroj Noochaikaew, said that he was driving the tourists from a hotel in
Patong and was heading to Phuket Town when the brakes failed .
“I could not brake to reduce my speed so I crashed into the concrete barrier instead,” Jiroj said.
“We have to investigate more to see if any charges will be pressed,” added Capt Somkiet.