THREE TEACHERS who survived a plane crash in Thailand last week have returned to Ireland.
Sisters Aoife and Orlagh Creamer and friend Lesley Dowdall were passengers on Bangkok Airways flight PG266 from Krabi, southern Thailand, when it slid off a wet runway as it was landing at Koh Samui Airport on August 4th.
The island of Koh Samui is 480km south of Bangkok in the Gulf of Thailand.
The aircraft struck a disused control tower and its pilot was killed. There were no other fatalities among the 68 passengers and three crew members, but four passengers were seriously injured in the accident.
The three teachers climbed through mangled wreckage and escaped with only cuts and bruises. They arrived in Dublin yesterday after taking four flights to get home. At the airport they were greeted by relieved family and friends in a VIP suite.
Orlagh Creamer (20), a DCU student teacher from Swords, said while she was scared flying home, she never feared for her safety.
“We figured we couldn’t be that unlucky again, we have been in one plane crash already, but it was scary,” she said.
Aoife Creamer (25), Rush, Co Dublin, said it was a relief to be home. “I couldn’t wait to come home, I’ve never been so glad to be back in Ireland.”
A teacher at St Brendan’s National School in Loughshinny, she plans to relax for the next few weeks before returning there in September.
Ms Dowdall (23), who works in St Finian’s Community College, Swords, will return to work tomorrow to offer her support to her Leaving Certificate students.
A friend, Áine Deasy (21), from Swords, had been travelling with the group but left Thailand before the crash after suffering a head injury in a fall.
The sisters’ mother Aileen, Aoife’s partner Stephen Hegarty, Orlagh’s boyfriend Anthony Fuller, Lesley’s parents Terry and Miriam and her boyfriend Anthony Power were among the large group who welcomed them home. – (PA)