Three people, a local leader and two teachers, were killed and seven others injured when a passenger van they were travelling in smashed into a roadside tree in the upper northeastern province of Loei on Wednesday morning.
The van skidded off the road near kilometre makers 164-165 and into the tree in Nong Hin district, said Pol Maj Thongsa Rongchart, a duty officer at Nong Hin police station, who received a report of the accident around 6am.
Three passengers died on the spot and seven people, including the 19-year-old driver, were injured, Thai media reported.
Rescue workers retrieved the bodies of the dead and injured from the wreckage of the van.
Rescue workers retrieve the bodies of the dead and injured victims from the wrecked van after it hit a tree in Loei province on Wednesday morning. (Photo by Ubon Wannee facebook)
The dead passengers were identified later as Prasert Pothana, 57, kamnan of tambon Khamhai Yai in Ubon Ratchathani’s Don Mot Daeng district, and two teachers from Khamhai Yai School, Amnuay Yusuk, 53, and Natthawat Jaipian, 59. The injured were sent to a nearby hospital.
Police said the van was taking them from Ubon Ratchathani to visit Chiang Khan, a popular tourist destination in Loei. They suspect the teenage driver fell asleep at the wheel and the vehicle ran off the road and hit the tree.
The investigation was continuing.