Russians injured in bus crash in Thailand in ‘satisfactory’ condition

The Russian tourists injured in a road accident in Thailand are staying in hospital and medics assess their condition as “satisfactory”, the Federal Agency for Tourism (Rostourism) said on Saturday, August 10. “As of August 10, five injured persons - four women and one man - remain in hospital, their condition is ‘satisfactory’,” the agency said. It said that all the tourists who were travelling in the crashed coach had bought the tour from a street vendor in Thailand. Rostourism is monitoring the situation and maintaining contact with the Russian diplomatic missions in Thailand, the Emergencies Ministry and tour operators. The coach with Russian tourists crashed on August 9. Twenty-eight injured tourists were taken to the nearest hospitals where they received medical attention. The coach driver blamed the accident on steering failure. Rostourism Spokesperson Irina Shchegolkova told ITAR-TASS that the majority of the Russian tourists had already returned to their hotels and continued vacationing. The Russian Embassy in Bangkok is monitoring assistance to the Russian citizens injured in the road accident in Thailand and its investigation, the Foreign Ministry said. The accident occurred on August 9 in the Kanchanaburi province about 120 kilometres west of Bangkok. “The coach skidded on a slippery road and fell on its side, continuing to slide along for several more metres. Twenty-six people were injured. The majority of them were taken to the local hospital Kanchanaburi Memorial,” Andrei Dvornikov, head of the consular section at the Russian Embassy in Thailand, said earlier in the day. The Russian Foreign Ministry also confirmed that “twenty-six persons with minor and moderate injuries were promptly taken to the local hospital Kanchanaburi Memorial,” the ministry said. “All of them received timely medical attention. There were no casualties. Five persons remain in hospital,” it added. “The Russian Embassy in Thailand is monitoring assistance to the injured compatriots and the investigation of the causes of the accident,” the ministry said. The Russian tourists had purchased the excursion from the local company Discovery Tour. Irina Tyurina, Spokesperson for the Russian Union of Tourism Industry, said earlier in the day that the operator that had sent the Russian tourists to Thailand had not been determined yet. “We only know that the tourists are from Siberia. That’s all the information we have at the moment,” she said.