Bangkok Post: Phuket Plane Crash Heroes

Tales of Heroism: The quiet Briton

Phuket (Agencies) - A shy British man is being hailed as a hero for pulling passengers out of the flaming wreckage of the One-Two-Go Airlines crash on Sunday.

Peter Hill, 35, from Manchester, was sitting in row 24A of the One-Two-Go Airlines domestic flight from Bangkok when it crashed and exploded in flames at Phuket International Airport in a tropical storm.

Mr Hill, whose seat was next to an emergency exit, forced it open and dragged several fellow passengers to freedom before looking after his own safety.


Tales of heroism: The unknown Thai

BangkokPost.com from reports Survivors are speaking of a "saint in yellow" - a reference to a Thai man wearing the yellow shirt that millions of Thais wear at the beginning of the week to honour His Majesty the King

The Australian press is reporting that Robert Borland, on fire and covered in aviation fuel, was dragged from the blazing wreckage of the Phuket plane crash by a Thai passenger he calls the "saint in yellow".

Speaking from his Phuket hospital bed, where he is recovering from a broken arm, burns to his legs and a back injury, Mr Borland said yesterday he had been saved by a man wearing a yellow T-shirt, worn by many Thais on Mondays, the media in Australia reported this morning.

According to a story posted at News.com.au by Andrew Drummond and Elizabeth Gosch: "The Thai man with a yellow T-shirt dragged me out on to the wing. He was like a saint to me," he said.


King, Queen give B800,000 to hospitals

Their Majesties the King and the Queen have donated a total of 800,000 baht to three hospitals in Phuket where injured passengers from Sunday's plane crash are being treated.

The Queen's secretary, Thanphuying Manatnit Vanikkul, sent a letter advising of the donation to Phuket governor Niran Kalayanamit, who will present the cash to the three hospitals.

The money is for the purchase of medical supplies and other necessities.

Plane Crash in Phuket; The Nation Blames "Foreigners"

Bangkok Pundit and Lost Boy have excellent coverage here and here.

The Nation, on the other hand, has decided to go nationalistic at this tragic time:


Like several other airlines, One Two Go has reportedly undergone manpower changes. The boss of One Two Go and Orient Thai budget airlines, Udom Tantisprongchai, is said to have replaced several of his Western and Thai pilots - allegedly to cut costs and reduce the chance of work disputes _-with crews with Indonesian and Philippine pilots.

However, authorities insisted it was too soon to presume anything, including whether human errors played a part in the tragedy.

Also here:


Chantra said it is not yet known whether the aircraft, which was leased by OneTwoGo from a foreign company, is covered by foreign insurance or not, something that the insurance commission still needs to find out.

However, airline companies normally buy insurance to cover both the aircraft in operation and passengers.

Chantra said foreign passengers usually have their own life and accident insurance, but Thai passengers, who are now being treated at local hospitals, will be able to get compensation from OneTwoGo, which will have to pay hospital bills immediately. The airline can claim those costs from its foreign insurers later.

Chantra said that the General Insurance Association had confirmed that OneTwoGo did not have local insurance for the MD 82 that crashed. He added that he will try to find out whether the foreign owner of the MD 82, which had leased it to OneTwoGo, had insurance for the aircraft.

I don't see the point in spinning this tragedy as caused by "foreigners." The insinuation that The Nation is making is a bigoted one. And it is disgusting.

Any why shouldn't aircraft, regardless of the owner, be required to carry insurance. WTF? So if Thai Air leases planes from Boeing or Airbus, then those foreign companies are liable for the actions of a Thai company's employees or for weather conditions in Thailand.

There really is something uncouth about worrying about who should pay the hospital bills at this time.

Lastly, in all the reports I have read, there seems to be no concern for the "foreign" pilot and co-pilot who lost their lives.