PRACHIN BURI - A double-decker coach carrying students on a field trip plunged off the road and into a ravine in Na Di district about 4.30am on Thursday, killing six and injuring 43 others.
The high school students were travelling from Khon Kaen province to Chanthaburi.
The blue Scania bus, licence number 30-1027 registered in Ubon Ratchathani, had picked up 44 students and six teachers from Pungtuipattanasuksa School in Nam Phong district of Khon Kaen, where they had all gathered to make merit before leaving.
The bus was heading for the Khung Kraben Bay Royal Development Study Centre in Chanthaburi. The trip was a reward for the students after completing their final exams.
The bus ran off the narrow road in the dark at a 45-degree curve on a downhill section of Highway 304 (Nakhon Ratchasima-Na Di), in the area where Khao Yai and Thap Lan national parks adjoin, said Pol Lt Col Mongkol Chanploy, a deputy superintendent of Wang Khon Daeng police.
The wrecked coach came to a stop in a ravine about 20 metres below the highway. Three teachers and two students died at the scene. Forty-four others were rushed to Nadi Hospital and Kabin Buri Hospital. Another teacher succumbed to injuries at Nadi Hospital.
The 33-year-old driver of the coach, identified as Wandee Phumphuang, fled.