Pickup Truck Crash Kills Eight Monks, Injures Fourteen in Thailand

An 11-year-old boy crashed a pickup truck into a group of monks on a pilgrimage walk in northeastern Thailand on Thursday, killing eight. Five monks died at the scene and three others died later at a hospital, Mukdahan Governor Worrayan Boonnarat said. Fourteen additional monks were hospitalized, with four in critical condition.

The 35 monks from Mukdahan province had begun a 260-kilometer walk to Ubon Ratchathani province about 30 minutes before the crash. Mukdahan province lies about 600 kilometers northeast of Bangkok. Security camera footage shows the monks walking in a single line on the side of the road when the truck struck them.

Local police said the boy took his parents' pickup truck without permission. He lost control of the vehicle, which slid off the road and into the group. The boy is in custody and will be questioned once state child protection officers arrive.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation. Monks told police they saw the vehicle swerving before it slid off the road.