Thailand van crash kills four Mexican tourists

January 16, 2016 | 10:14

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The accident happened in Phichit province late Thursday as the group travelled in a rental van from Bangkok to the historic Thai capital of Sukhothai.

A general view of the Bangkok skyline. (AFP/Christophe ARCHAMBAULT)

BANGKOK: Four Mexican tourists were killed and six others were injured when their tour van crashed into a tree in central Thailand, police said Friday (Jan 15).

The accident happened in Phichit province late Thursday as the group travelled in a rental van from Bangkok to the historic Thai capital of Sukhothai.

"The driver lost control of the van and it veered off the road and into a tree. Four people died --two men and two women - while six are injured, one of them critically," a district policeman, Captain Patiwat Sonthirod, told AFP.

"I suspect the driver may have fallen asleep or he was not used to the road," he added.

Thailand has the second most dangerous roads in the world in terms of per capita deaths. The World Health Organization estimates about 24,000 people die each year in road traffic accidents.

Thirteen Malaysian tourists died in a bus crash before Christmas.

AFP

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