PRACHINBURI, Thailand – In the early hours of April 21, tragedy struck again on the notorious downhill stretch of Pu Thon Shrine Hill (Highway 304) in Na Di district, when a passenger bus lost control and slammed into a 22-wheel container truck before catching fire, killing seven and injuring 53.
The crash occurred at around 1:30 a.m. as the bus, operated by 407 Pattana Company and traveling from Nong Khai to Rayong, descended the steep hill. Witnesses reported the bus was moving at high speed when its brakes failed, sending it crashing into the rear of a green HINO 500 container truck and then into an ISUZU DECA 360 starch transport truck. The collision caused a massive fire that engulfed the bus.
First responders from the Sajja Phutthatham Rescue Foundation coordinated with police and emergency services to rush to the scene. Among the fatalities were both the primary and secondary bus drivers, who were trapped and burned in the front of the vehicle, a bus attendant crushed near the door, and four passengers on the upper deck.
Passenger Mr. Naruephon, 54, recounted waking up to shouts of “brake failure” before the vehicle plummeted down the hill. Another witness, volunteer medic Mr. Amsan Phuangphu, 64, described seeing the bus speed past his car before swerving, sparking, and then erupting in flames after impact.
Efforts by bystanders to break windows and pull passengers out likely prevented a higher death toll, as many passengers were asleep at the time of the crash.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the accident. Due to the deaths of both drivers, further forensic analysis and mechanical inspections will be conducted to confirm the brake failure.
The site of the crash is the same location where, on February 26, a similar accident involving a municipal study tour bus from Bueng Kan Province resulted in over 20 deaths. Residents and local officials have long warned about the dangers of the steep and winding descent at Pu Thon Shrine Hill.
