Five elderly people were killed and about 30 others were injured when their chartered bus, on a journey which began in Betong district of Yala province, skidded off the road and struck a tree before overturning in Chaiya district of Surat Thani last night.
The 38 passengers, mostly elderly, chartered the bus to take them to Betong for a sight-seeing trip during the New Year holiday. The accident occurred at about 7.30pm last night as the bus was heading back home to Samut Sakhon.
The bus driver, only identified as ‘Suthep’, reportedly told the police in Surat Thani that he was unfamiliar with the route.
The emergency services rushed the injured to Chaiya and Tha Chang hospitals.
Five of the passengers, three men and two women, were found dead inside the bus.
