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By APD Writer Chen Jiabao
BANGKOK, Aug 7 (APD) -- 20 Chinese tourists were injured when their tour bus ran off the road in a hill in southern Thailand's Phuket, the Phuket Consular Office of the Chinese Consulate-General in Songkhla confirmed on Monday.
The accident happened at around 8 p.m. local time in Patong hill in Phuket province.
The tour bus carrying 22 Chinese passengers failed to brake before going down the steep hill and hit a passenger van and a three wheeled car, according to manager online.
No deaths were reported.
From photos posted by local media, the bus broke the guardrail, leaving half of it dangling over the hill.
Initial reports said the front end of the bus rammed into a water mains running parallel to the road, preventing the bus from plunging down the hill.
The injured were hospitalized last night. One of them is still in hospital for further observation and the rest have been back to the hotel so far, according to authority.
The cause of the accident is still under investigation.
Local media said that authorities have warned people not to take this route. To prevent further deaths from the steep descent into Patong, the route is closed to tour buses and other heavy vehicle.
It has been the third accident here after two tragic tour bus crashes on Patong Hill claimed three lives in less than two weeks.
On the night of July 10, a tour bus crash killed a 10-year-old boy and his father, both Chinese tourists on holiday in Phuket.
On June 30, a motorbike driver died instantly when her head was crushed by a 'broken down' tour bus.
The incident, which also sent more than 30 Chinese passengers aboard the bus to hospital, occurred as the two vehicles descended Patong Hill westbound.
The two accidents left nearly 50 people, mostly tourists, injured.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
