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At least 18 people were killed and more than 40 injured in Thailand on Sunday when a freight train crashed into a bus carrying passengers to a religious ceremony, authorities said.
The morning collision, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of the capital Bangkok, toppled the bus and ripped off part of its roof.
More than 40 passengers were rushed to nearby medical facilities for treatment, said the provincial hospital director Sombat Chutimanukul.
“Four are in critical condition and eight remain under observation” of the 23 admitted to his hospital, he told reporters.
By late afternoon, more than 30 passengers who had suffered minor injuries were sent home, a local police chief said.
“The death toll is 18,” he said, adding that “the investigation into the cause of the accident is ongoing.”
Images shared by a government department showed the bus pulling off the highway onto the train tracks before a blue freight train crashed into its side.
“I was frozen in fear when I saw the accident … It was a terrible sight,” said Pitchitra Thongwichit, 34, who lives near the tracks.
“All the passengers were groaning and asking for help.”
Photos taken by rescuers showed twisted metal and debris, with bodies lying next to the tracks and belongings scattered around the scene.
Factory worker Samruan Thongdee said he was having breakfast nearby when he heard the crash.
“I called my colleagues to come help” before emergency workers arrived, the 57-year-old said. “I managed to get a woman out of the rubble and helped her up onto the train platform.”
Two cranes were brought in in the afternoon to pull the bus off the tracks so that the police could better assess the carnage.
About 60 passengers were traveling on the chartered bus from Samut Prakan province to a temple in Chachoengsao, said the province’s governor, Maitree Tritilanond.
They planned to offer yellow robes to monks, a traditional ceremony that takes place a month after the end of Buddhist Lent, he told reporters.
Deadly roads
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha ordered authorities to investigate the cause of the accident, a government spokesman said in a statement.
Travel across the kingdom has been disrupted by a major storm that hit the region, leaving roads in poor condition and some provinces inundated by large-scale flooding.
Fatal crashes are common in Thailand, which regularly tops the lists of the world’s deadliest roads, with speeding, drunk driving and weak law enforcement – all contributing factors.
Thailand has the second highest road accident death rate in the world, according to a 2018 World Health Organization (WHO) report.
Although the majority of the victims are motorcyclists, bus accidents involving groups of tourists and migrant workers often make headlines.
In March 2018, at least 18 people were killed and dozens injured when a bus carrying domestic tourists in northeast Thailand ran off the road and hit a tree. – AFP
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