A bus staffer was killed and 12 people hurt when a Chiang Rai-bound bus veered off the road and fell into a ditch in Ngao district of Lampang early on Friday morning.
The Bangkok-Chiang Rai bus came to a halt in the ditch after hitting roadside trees on Ngao-Song Road when police and a rescue team arrived at the scene, having received a report of the accident at around 5am, said Pol Capt Supachai Kanthawong, deputy investigation chief at Ngao police station.
A woman was found dead in the front seat of the bus. Rescue workers retrieved her body from the wreckage. Twelve other people, including 11 passengers and the driver, were hurt and sent to Ngao Hospital. The remaining 21 passengers escaped unhurt, Thai media reported.
A police investigation found that the bus, carrying 32 passengers, left Mo Chit bus terminal at around 8pm on Thursday bound for Chiang Rai. While the bus was driving along Ngao-Song Road in Lampang, it veered off the road and plunged into the roadside ditch.
Police believe bus driver Monthian Naksawat, 57, who was among the injured, fell asleep at the wheel.
The bus operator, Sombat Tour Co, sent another bus to take the stranded passengers to Chiang Rai on Friday morning.
