July 3, 2012
BANGKOK (AFP) - An Indian tourist was among 10 passengers who died while several other foreigners were seriously injured after a bus ploughed into an electricity pylon in southern Thailand on Tuesday, police said.
The tourist bus, travelling from Bangkok to a terminal for ferries heading to the island of Koh Pha Ngan, hit a traffic island in the early hours of the morning, rammed the electricity pole and flipped over, police said.
Television footage showed locals carrying the injured and dead from the mangled wreck in the Kanchanadit district of Surat Thani province, 650 kilometres (400 miles) south of the capital.
"Ten people died at the scene, five men and five women, and 17 people were wounded," Colonel Suriya Nakkeao, superintendent of Kanchanadit district police, told AFP.
"I can confirm that one Indian tourist has been killed," he said.
A Surat Thani tourist police officer confirmed the death toll, adding that "two British, two Indians and two Luxembourg nationals" were among the 17 people injured, all of whom were in a "serious condition".
Koh Pha Ngan is a resort island in the Gulf of Thailand neighbouring Koh Samui and draws thousands of backpackers to its famous full-moon parties.
Thailand's image as a tourism paradise has recently been tarnished by a series of deaths, including the murder of an Australian tour operator in Phuket on June 20 in an attempted robbery.
Her death came less than a week after two Canadian sisters were found dead in their hotel room on nearby Phi Phi island, showing signs of an extreme toxic reaction.
Thai authorities have promised a crackdown on criminals and rogue traders in attempt to reassure tourists of the kingdom's safety.
