ROLLED OUT: This is where the minibus the gang set out with ended up. Photo: Pai Samakkhi Karnkusol rescue foundation
They were on their way to a full moon party when the car ended up down a cliff.
Friday 9 February at 23:08
The short version
- 13 Danish tourists were involved in a serious traffic accident in Thailand on the night of Friday
- The driver died, and several others were seriously injured
- The passengers were aged 19-24
- The Danish embassy in Thailand and two crisis psychologists from Denmark have been sent to assist
Sea view
Night to Friday Norwegian time, 13 Danish tourists were involved in a serious traffic accident with a minibus in Thailand, writes the newspaper Bangkok Post.
The driver died, and several of the young Danes are said to be seriously injured.
They were on their way to a full moon party in the city of Pai in Thailand, when the car they were riding in drove off the road and rolled into a ditch, writes the Thai newspaper.
The young gang were traveling with the travel agency Jysk Rejsebureau, but the accident happened after they had finished their trip with the agency.
– It is absolutely terrible when young people are injured. It hurts all the way to the soul, says the director of the travel agency, Niels Amstrup Danish TV2.
IN THE PIT: A local rescue foundation came to the scene to assist. Photo: Pai Samakkhi Karnkusol rescue foundation
Amstrup says that he found out about the accident when the travelers called the agency’s emergency number. All relatives have been notified, he says.
According to the Danish newspaper, all the passengers were Danish citizens between the ages of 19 and 24.
– Shaken and shocked
Danish media have spoken to one of the young people involved, and a parent in Denmark.
– I experienced it very violently, says 19-year-old Natasja Moseholt Petersen to Danish TV2.
The 19-year-old says that she remembers the car starting to roll around, but that she was “lost” for a while, before she woke up again.
TV2 East Jutland has been in contact with Ulla Moseholt Petersen, the mother of one of the others involved. She was called by her 19-year-old daughter after the accident.
– She is of course shaken and shocked, the mother tells the newspaper.
The mother also says that she has heard from her daughter that the driver was speeding, and that the young people must have asked the driver to brake several times.
The Reuters news agency has received confirmation from the local district chief, Anek Pantayom, that several people are being treated for serious injuries.
The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs tells Danish TV2 that it does not wish to comment further on their state of health or how many were injured.
Karin Tranberg, director of the assistance organization SOS International Travel Care Division, tells TV2 Østjylland that several people have broken collarbones and wrists, as well as minor injuries. A couple of them are more seriously affected, she says.
Tranberg tells TV2 that several of those involved are in a state of shock.
– Some of them do not remember anything that happened. Others have seen the driver killed and his traveling companion seriously injured.
Sent crisis psychologists
The director of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs tells TV2 that the Danish embassy has been asked to help those involved.
Two crisis psychologists have also been sent from Denmark to Thailand.
– It is important that someone comes down to them. They need someone they can speak Danish with, says one of the psychologists, Liselotte Rosenkvist, to the Danish media.
IN SHOCK: According to SOS International, several of the young people are in a state of shock after the incident. Photo: Pai Samakkhi Karnkusol rescue foundation
2024-02-09 21:57:09
#Danish #tourists #injured #Thailand
