Brits are among dozens of tourists who have been injured after a tour bus overturned in Thailand.
The holidaymakers were travelling to the island of Koh Samui where the popular TV series ‘The White Lotus’ was filmed, when the bus lost control this afternoon.
Those onboard screamed as the vehicle veered off the road and flipped over on the grass verge.
Paramedics arrived shortly after midday and found the overturned coach lying on its side.
Firemen used cutting equipment to extract the tourists still trapped inside.
Dramatic footage shows medics applying first aid to the injured tourists as volunteers collecting their bags from the wreckage.
Authorities said 10 tourists were taken to nearby hospitals while others were treated at the scene.
Officials identified one as a British passenger, 23, who was taken to Bangkok Hospital Surat Thani along with Thai driver, Theerawat Kohhem, 38, and Malaysian woman Shanmail Sharudae, 51.
Brits are among dozens of tourists who have been injured after a tour bus overturned in Thailand. The holidaymakers were travelling to the island of Koh Samui where the popular TV series ‘The White Lotus ‘ was filmed, when the bus lost control this afternoon
Paramedics arrived shortly after midday and found the overturned coach lying on its side. Firemen used cutting equipment to extract the tourists still trapped inside
Authorities said 10 tourists were taken to nearby hospitals while others were treated at the scene
German man Alexel, 49,was treated at Chai Buri Hospital.
The uninjured passengers were taken to the Bang Sawan Police Station.
A police spokesman said: ‘The bus had picked up 40 tourists and three staff from Ao Nang in Krabi Province.
‘They were headed to the pier in Don Sak District in Surat Thani Province, en route to Koh Samui island. The cause of the accident remains under police investigation.’
Thailand has one of the world’s worst road safety records.
Ministers have set the goal of reducing fatalities from 32.7 deaths per 100,000 people to 12 per 100,000 people by the year 2027.
However, a lack of road safety education in schools along with notoriously easy driving tests, police failures to enforce road laws, and chronic under-investment in infrastructure, all appear to hamper the efforts.
Those onboard screamed as the vehicle veered off the road and flipped over on the grass verge. The uninjured passengers were taken to the Bang Sawan Police Station.
Dramatic footage shows medics applying first aid to the injured tourists as volunteers collecting their bags from the wreckage
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On February 18, a tour bus lost control on a wet motorway in Nakhon Ratchasima province, injuring 18 holidaymakers.
On February 20, a bus skidded on the wet Phet Kasem Road in Phang Nga province while travelling from holiday island Phuket to Phatthalung province in southern Thailand.
Eleven passengers, including a critically injured toddler, were rushed to the hospital.
On March 22, dozens of Russian tourists were injured when their coach overturned on a sharp bend in Phuket.
Tourism interest in Koh Samui island surged among US and European travellers following the premiere of The White Lotus’s third season.
The Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui, which serves as the show’s fictional setting, saw a tenfold increase in demand, its executive vice president Marc Speichert said.
The spike in interest, called the ‘White Lotus Effect’, also boosted tourism in the previous filming locations of Hawaii and Sicily.