At least nine passengers, including four children aged between 8 and 15, were killed when a pickup truck in which they were riding skidded off the road at a curve in Nan’s Pua district on Saturday.
Five passengers riding in the truck bed died at the scene. Three others died on the way to the hospital, while another died during surgery.
Police said a preliminary investigation showed that the driver had been transporting 21 fellow villagers from Ban Choon village in Ban Klang subdistrict, most of whom were riding in the truck bed.
The group had traveled into Nan town to run errands and was returning home when the accident occurred.
Police said the crash happened on a steep downhill curved section, where the driver lost control, veered off course, struck a guardrail, overturned, and plunged into a roadside ditch, scattering the passengers.
Authorities are gathering evidence and questioning the driver, who survived the accident.
Paklang Secondary School issued a statement expressing profound condolences for the loss of one of its 15-year-old female students in the accident.
Meanwhile, Saharat Bamrung School in Pua district is also mourning the loss of three students, aged 8 to 11.
