Nine monks were killed and 13 other people injured after a pickup truck driven by an 11-year-old boy ploughed into a morning pilgrimage in Muang district of Mukdahan province on Thursday.
The accident took place at 11.55am as a group of 34 monks were walking along a road near the entrance to the Huai Sing area at Na Si Nuan village.
According to local reports, the monks were travelling from Nam Khun district in Ubon Ratchathani province and had reached the area near the Na Si Nuan Market in Mukdahan when the crash took place.
Five monks died at the scene, while four others later succumbed to their injuries at Mukdahan Hospital, according to the latest update from the provincial public relations office.
Three seriously injured monks remain in hospital while nine other monks and one layman sustained minor injuries, it said.
The nine deceased monks have been identified as:
- Phra Samruay Rawang
- Phra Sakda Sila
- Phra Chaison Nantasing
- Phra Ratchata Thongburan
- Phra Khamsing Chailert
- Phra Yothin Wannasri
- Phra Yut Phongwiset
- Phra Nikhom Angkab
- Phra Surasak Pinla-or.
Before the tragedy, the monks had taken a meal at Wat Roi Phra Phutthabat Phu Manorom and then resumed their pilgrimage on foot towards Don Tan district in Mukdahan.
Police said the vehicle involved was an Isuzu pickup truck driven by a boy, aged 11 years old. The child, described as having special needs, reportedly took his father’s vehicle without permission and drove from Don Tan towards Muang district, about 10 kilometres away.
The boy’s mother said she immediately called police after discovering her son had taken the vehicle, but officers were unable to intercept it before the crash.
The pickup reportedly lost control and veered into the group of monks, striking a large number of them and causing multiple casualties.
The boy was taken to the Muang district police station but officers have been unable to question him because he remains in shock, according to local reports.
