At least 20 people were killed and dozens injured after a freight train collided with a tour bus near Bangkok on Sunday (Oct 11), officials said.
The collision happened at around 8am (9am Singapore time) at Khlong Khwaeng Klan station in Chachoengsao province, about 50km east of the capital Bangkok.
About 60 passengers in the bus were on their way to a temple in Chachoengsao province for a ceremony to mark the end of Buddhist Lent, said a district police chief.
The bus was on the track when the train hit, said the province’s disaster management agency. There was no barricade, it added.
Provincial governor Maitree Tritilanond told reporters that so far about 29 people were injured.
The number of casualties and injured is expected to rise.
Early images by rescue workers showed gnarled metal and debris, with bodies lying by the train tracks and people’s belongings scattered.
The bus was overturned on its side, the top of it ripped off, and rescue workers said a crane was needed to lift it.
The cause of the accident is being investigated by the police, the Chachoengsao Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office said.
Such deadly accidents are common in Thailand, which regularly tops lists of the world’s most lethal roads, with speeding, drunk driving and weak law enforcement all contributing factors.
According to a 2018 report by the World Health Organization, Thailand has the second-highest traffic fatality rate in the world.
Though a majority of the victims are motorcyclists, bus crashes involving groups of tourists and migrant labourers often grab headlines.
In March 2018, at least 18 people were killed and dozens wounded when a bus carrying people returning from holiday in northeastern Thailand swerved off the road and smashed into a tree. – AFP
