PHANG-NGA: The driver was killed and 19 Chinese tourists hurt, four seriously, when their tour bus crashed into a power pole in Takua Thung district on Friday morning.
The double-decker bus was carrying the tourists from a hotel in Krabi to Ban Tha Noon pier in Takua Thung district. It ran off the road and into a power pole on a straight section of tarmac near an intersection on Phetkasem Road in tambon Krasom around 8am, Thai media reported.
The driver Arkhom Daengnam, 40, died in the accident. Nineteen Chinese tourists were hurt, four of them seriously. The injured were rushed to Phang-nga Hospital,
Police said the bus picked up the CNR Co tour group from the Ayothaya Hotel in neighbouring Krabi province around 5am and was heading for the Ban Tha Noon pier in Takua Thung.
Police speculated the driver fell asleep. They were investigating.
The crash scene. (Photo supplied by local rescue volunteers)