9 foreign tourists hurt as tree falls on bus in Kanchanaburi

NINE of 30 foreign tourists from various countries got injured after a partly-felled tree toppled on their bus as it was travelling on Kanchanaburi-Erawan Falls route today (Jan. 3), Naewna newspaper said.

At 10 a.m. Pol. Lt. Col. Maniphat Phengkret, an investigator at Lat Ya police station, was informed of a tree falling on this bus shattering the windshield leading to some foreign tourists getting injured on the stretch of Highway No. 3199 (Kaeng Sean-Srisawat) passing through Wang Dong subdistrict, Mueang district.

He quickly went there to investigate after coordinating with Tourist Police, Pitakkan Foundation and Salak Phra Wildlife Sanctuary officials to likewise do so to provide assistance.

At the scene they saw the blue Mercedes Benz bus parked by the roadside facing Erawan waterfalls with the windshield shattered by the toppled tree.

Of the 30 European tourists, one man and eight women had got injured with cuts on their arms, legs and faces. They were all given first aid and taken to a private hospital where eight were discharged but one admitted for further treatment.

As inspection showed that this tree did not fall naturally because part of the trunk had been felled and there was sawdust on the ground police moved to search for the suspect who was unlikely to have fled far away.

They soon arrested Mr. Wasin (surname withheld), 39, from Phitsanulok province as he was driving a white pickup truck on a gravel road at the edge of the forest.

They also found a chainsaw and a curved saw for cutting branches at the back of the pickup truck as well as some documents from a wood purchasing yard.

Currently, officers from Forensic Science Division 7 are investigating whether Wasin had felled part of the tree trunk causing it to fall on the tourist bus.

CAPTION:

The tourist bus that was damaged by a falling tree and the injured tourists getting first aid. Last image below shows the suspect being arrested. All photos: Naewna