Tourists among at least 13 killed in Thai bus crash

By CS Thana

BANGKOK

At least 13 people – mostly Malaysian nationals -- were killed Sunday after a tour bus crashed into a ravine in Thailand’s northern Chiang Mai province.

The bus had been traveling from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai when it lost control on a mountain path.

An official from the Doi Saket district police station who requested anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media told Anadolu Agency that most of the victims were Malaysians of Chinese descent.

The cause behind the accident remains unclear.

Thailand is frequently ranked among the countries with the most dangerous roads, with even its Public Health Ministry acknowledging that a general lack of responsibility contributes to the problem.

A 2015 World Health Organization report, titled the Global Status Report on Road Safety, found that Thailand came in second after war-torn Libya for road fatalities.

It said that while 14,059 people were recorded to have died on Thai roads in 2012, resulting in 36.2 deaths per 100,000 people, the UN agency estimated that the actual figure might stand at 24,237, or 42 percent more than the Public Health Ministry reported.

A study released by the University of Michigan’s transportation research institute at the end of 2013 had listed Thailand as having the second worst road safety record in the world behind Namibia, with 44 road deaths per 100,000 people.

In February, Chilean cyclist Francisco Villa was killed by a speeding pick-up truck in northeastern Thailand while trying to set a new record for cycling around the world.

His wife - a Singaporean whom he met during his world tour - and their two-year-old baby were riding on another bicycle nearby and slightly injured in the accident.

After the incident, the Public Health Ministry declared it would assume a leadership role in efforts for road safety.