Russian Tourist Killed in Thailand Bus Crash

A thai tour bus crash kills Russian Tourist in second accident in month

KANCHANA BURI – A Russian tourist has been killed and 32 others injured after a bus overturned on its way to an elephant village in western Thailand, police said.

Police Col Bandit Muangsukham says that 41 Russian passengers, along with a Thai guide and a driver, were traveling on the bus to Sai Yok district in Kanchanaburi province on Friday when the accident happened.

The Russian tourists were on their way to the River Kwai when their bus tipped over.

He said that the driver was not familiar with the route and lost control of the bus and overturned as it came down a slope.

The police say a woman in her mid-thirties was killed in the crash, while 12 other tourists were seriously injured, including a boy.

Twenty other passengers suffered minor injuries.

According to the Bangkok Post the driver has been identified as Kasian Karaket, 53, and has been taken into custody for further investigation. He will face charges of causing death and property damage by reckless driving and could face up to 10 years in prison, Bandit said.

The bus was traveling from Pattaya, a seaside town in eastern Thailand, to Kanchanaburi, which is 110 kilometers west of Bangkok.

Up to 26,000 people are killed in road accidents every year in Thailand, according to their Interior Ministry.

This was the second incident in months involving Russian tourists when in August, 28 Russian tourists were injured in a similar road accident when their bus crashed in the Sai Yok district.