Sawang Boriboon rescue workers were called into action Tuesday night, June 6, as a party of Chinese tourists, and the bus they were travelling in, went for an impromptu swim in north Pattaya.
The tour bus, belonging to the Sermyong Tours, was found stranded on the beach approximately 50 meters from Soi 18 on the Pattaya-Naklua Road. On the coach were a total of 34 Chinese tourists who were accompanied by their guide, all looking a little shocked and ill-prepared for an evening dip in the ocean. Luckily none of those onboard were injured and rescue workers evacuated the tourists from the vehicle before attempting to pull it back out onto the road.
The driver, 49 year old Chokchai Plangthaisong, told the officials that he had earlier in the evening driven the group of tourists to a restaurant in a nearby soi. On the journey back to the hotel he was forced to brake on a steep curve but lost control of the coach, which then struck a parked pick-up truck before plunging into the surf.
Police were called to the scene to collect evidence and said that while they initially suspected brake failure, they would need to examine the vehicle to determine the true cause of the accident and whether the coach was in a roadworthy condition to begin with.
