Fast acting luxury bus driver evacuated 15 Polish tourists before their coach was engulfed in flames

June 7, 2023 at 10:33 pm
by News Desk
in Foreigners, Living, More News from Thailand, Thailand
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Firefighters took twenty minutes to put out the flames which erupted just after the driver parked the bus on the busy expressway and opened the door to the left through which the foreign tourists made their exit.

Polish tourists were evacuated from a luxury bus in Bangkok on Wednesday on one of the city’s expressway ring roads just minutes before it burst into flames and was engulfed in an inferno responded to by fire and emergency services.

bus-driver-saves-polish-tourists-from-fire-bangkok-expressway — Scenes from Monday on Expressway number 2 near the Kamphaeng Phet Road when a tourist bus went up in flames just after the driver had evacuated the 15 Polish tourists on their way to Ayutthaya.

The quick thinking of a 48-year-old bus driver may have saved the lives of 15 Polish tourists on Wednesday morning on one of the busy Bangkok expressways that circle the capital city when he quickly parked his bus and evacuated his passengers after noticing smoke coming from the underside of the bus near the luggage compartment.

48-year-old Mr Kanchit Kaewmanee had earlier picked up the tourists from a hotel in the Makkasan area of the city and was travelling outbound on Expressway Number 2 near the Kamphaeng Phet Road when the incident occurred.

White Scania bus with air conditioning was quickly engulfed in an inferno after the driver tried to extinguish the fire with a small chemical unit

Passengers escaped from the bus to safety on the left-hand side as it parked on the busy expressway.

The bus was a luxury, air-conditioned Scania model, white in colour, registration number Bangkok 33-1104.

The emergency situation was reported to police at 8.17 am

It was carrying the tourists and their guide to visit Thailand’s ancient capital, Phraya Nakhon Si Ayutthaya in the Chao Phraya River valley.

Immediately after the evacuation, the driver tried to extinguish the fire with a chemical fire extinguisher unit but this was not successful and the bus quickly erupted into an inferno.

Fire burned for 20 minutes leaving a gutted shell

Responding to the incident were police for Expressway Police Station Number 2 led by Police Lieutenant Colonel Krit Limchamroon and fire units with the Bangkok Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Bureau.

The bus burned for over twenty minutes in a conflagration which emitted thick black smoke.

After twenty minutes, the fire was brought under control but the vehicle was left completely gutted.

Officials confirmed that all passengers on the bus were safe after their shocking ordeal.