An overloaded pickup truck overturned in Bang Phli district of Samut Prakan early on Sunday, killing 13 students and seriously wounding the driver.
Police said the accident occurred at about 1am.
A taxi driver who witnessed the accident told police that shortly before 1am he saw a pick-up truck turn from Soi King Kaew 2 onto the main King Kaew road at high speed. The pick-up suddenly skidded off the road onto the pavement, rammed into two roadside power poles and overturned.
Twelve students riding on the rear of the pick-up were thrown onto the road by the violent impact and killed instantly, their bodies scattered on the road. Five other students sitting inside the vehicle were seriously injured, along with the driver.
The six injured were rushed to Chularat 9 Hospital for treatment. One of the five students later died at the hospital, raising the death toll to 13.
A police investigation revealed that that the dead were students at Si Sa Ket Technical College.
