Thailand bus crash: at least 17 killed in collision with train

At least 17 people were killed and more than dozen injured when a bus collided with a train in Thailand, officials said.

The bus passengers were on their way to a temple in Chachoengsao province for a ceremony to mark the end of Buddhist Lent and were about two hours east of the capital, Bangkok, when the accident occurred.

“The death toll we have so far is 17,” a district police chief said, adding that the crash happened around 8am local time.

Provincial governor Maitree Tritilanond told reporters that about 29 people were injured.

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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 number of casualties and injured is expected to rise.

The tour bus had 65 passengers on board when it crossed the railway track. Prathueng Yookassem, the district chief officer, told Thailand’s PBS TV that: “It was raining, perhaps the driver did not see the train.”

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 holidays in north-eastern Thailand swerved off the road and smashed into a tree.