Driver killed, 13 Danish tourists injured as their van plunges into ravine
Thirteen Danish nationals were injured late on Thursday night when their van plunged into a roadside ravine in Mae Hong Son province in northern Thailand.
The 50-year-old Thai driver of the vehicle, identified by police as Baramee Panjachaiya, was seriously injured in the accident and later died in hospital.
Three of the tourists suffered severe injuries, according to police.
All the 13 passengers of the van – 10 women and three men – are Danish nationals aged between 19 and 24, according to their passports.
They were identified as Louis Blicher Weiendorph Pedersen, Natasja Moseholt Petersen, Mikkel Tangaa Lauritzen, Josefine Oline Boe Nielsen, Annika Meyenburg Duus, Helena Roed Hansen, Nicoline Toettrup Hansen, Simon Skat Astrup, Zoe Bouweriks, Sarah Laybourn Jensen, Celine Sprogoe Sandau, Laura Bjornstrup Madsen, and Frederik Gerner Kjaer Rahbek.
Rescue workers rushed the injured to nearby hospitals. Four of the injured were treated and discharged, while nine others were still hospitalised on Friday – five of them at Pai Hospital and four others at Chiang Mai-Ram Hospital.
Police said the tourists came from Chiang Mai to join a full moon party in Mae Hong Son’s Pai district, which has become a popular destination among young visitors to Thailand.
Their vehicle fell off the road into the ravine at a mountainous section of Highway 1095, which is notorious for its numerous curves.
