Chiang Mai bus crash: Licences of driver, tour agency revoked

A file picture of a Thai police officer at the scene of the crash.

BANGKOK: Thailand's Land Transport Department (LTD) has revoked the driving licence of bus driver Somporn Bualuang and suspended his employer's tour bus licence following the deadly accident in Chiang Mai's Doi Saket district on Sunday that killed 13 Malaysians.

Somporn faces a charge of reckless driving causing others' deaths and injuries after he crashed the bus into another car, hit a power pole and fell off the moutainous road, resulting in the deaths of 13 Malaysians and one Thai tour guide, and leaving 12 people, including himself, injured.

LTD chief Sanith Phromwong on Wednesday revealed that besides revoking Somporn's driving licence for droving carelessly and causing several deaths, it had also ordered the Chiang Mai Provincial Land Transport Office to revoke the business licence of the tour bus operator immediately.

"The company failed to regulate its bus driver from exceeding the speed limit," Sanith said, adding the department would also follow through to ensure the wounded and the deceased's families receive aid.

Earlier on Tuesday, the bodies of the 13 Malaysian victims were flown back to their home country by a C130 plane, which departed a little before midnight. - The Nation/Asia News Network