MOSCOW, October 11 (RIA Novosti) – A Russian tourist was killed and at least 35 others injured after their tour bus with 42 on board overturned in northwest Thailand, the Russian Federal Tourism Agency reported Friday.
“As of 3:00 p.m. Moscow time [11:00 a.m. GMT], one person has died, five are in a coma and 16 have sustained serious injuries” among the 35 hurt, the agency said on its website, citing information from the Russian Consulate in Thailand.
The Bangkok Post reported that the bus was en route from Pattaya to Sai Yok district in the province of Kanchanaburi, when it overturned while descending a slope near Maha Wang Chang elephant village.
The Federal Tourism Agency, quoting the Russian Foreign Ministry, named the dead woman as Svetlana Simonenko, 35. She suffered a punctured lung and succumbed to her injuries on the way to a hospital in Sai Yok, the Bangkok Post said.
It gave a figure of 38 injured in addition to the woman killed.
The bus driver, who was taken into custody for further investigation, was identified as Kasian Karaket, 53.
This was the second accident in the region recently involving a bus carrying Russian tourists. Twenty six Russians were injured on August 9 when their bus crashed in Sai Yok.
