This is the shocking moment three British teenagers were left injured after a tree crashed down onto their moving bus in Thailand.
The trio of young women were among 11 wounded following the incident which saw the entire trunk of a wormwood tree slam onto the roof of a bus in Kanchanaburi.
A 19-year-old, from London, another 19-year-old, from Welwyn Garden City, and an 18-year-old, from Oxford, were onboard the 54-year-old vehicle when the tree fell.
Nail-biting footage captured by a car travelling behind the bus shows the tree slowly collapsing on to the roof of the bus.
It had been hacked down by an illegal logger using a chainsaw, according to local reports.
The driver of the blue bus skidded the vehicle across the road as the holidaymakers on board screamed in terror, coming within a few feet of plunging down a hillside.
When police arrived at the scene, they found 36 passengers inside, adding that 11, including the British women, were rushed to hospital for treatment.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Maneephat Pengklet, investigator at the Lat Ya Police Station, said cops were notified of the accident at 10am on Friday.
A trio of female teenagers were among 11 wounded following an incident which saw an entire trunk of a wormwood tree slam onto the roof of a bus in Kanchanaburi
A 19-year-old, from London , another 19-year-old, from Welwyn Garden City, and an 18-year-old, from Oxford, were onboard the 54-year-old vehicle when the tree fell
Most of the passengers suffered minor injuries and have already been discharged from hospital
Dashcam footage from a car travelling being caught the moment the tree collapsed
He said: ‘At the scene on Highway No. 3199, a blue Benz passenger bus was found.
‘It was headed to the Erawan Waterfall and a wormwood tree on the side of the road had fallen on it. The windshield was shattered.
‘Initial inspection found at least 30 foreign passengers. There were 10 injured people from shattered glass and broken branches.’
The injured individuals were dashed to the local Synphaet Hospital for treatment.
Most of the passengers suffered minor injuries and have already been discharged.
A Canadian tourist, Jaime Michelle Mitchell, 45, was taken to the ICU with a neck splint.
Land transport official Thawatchai Wiriyajit said will shoulder the patients’ hospital bills.
The tree had been hacked down by an illegal logger using a chainsaw, according to local reports
The windscreen of the bus was left completely smashed
Police arrived at the scene and found 36 passengers inside. They said that 11 were taken to the hospital for treatment
Authorities said the fallen tree was reportedly surrounded by piles of sawdust and showed signs of being cut by a tool.
Paitoon Inthabut, Chief of Salak Phra Wildlife Sanctuary, said rangers were dispatched to track down the suspect, believed to be living not far from the area.
He said: ‘We learned that someone was cutting a tree illegally, which caused the accident. We already have suspects in mind.’
Police later arrested Wasin, 39, who was found storing tree cutting tools in his white Isuzu pickup truck.
Cops also found a document confirming that he was selling lumber.
Athisak Intra, Governor of Kanchanaburi Province, said he has ordered a thorough investigation into the incident.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
