Child drives pickup into Buddhist procession in Thailand, killing eight monks

Eight Buddhist monks were killed and at least ten others injured after an 11-year-old boy drove his family’s pickup truck into a procession in Thailand’s northeastern province of Mukdahan, police said. The child took the vehicle without permission on Thursday and lost control, striking a line of about 30 monks who were walking along a roadside as part of a 260-kilometre pilgrimage toward Ubon Ratchathani. Security-camera footage released by a local rescue group showed the monks walking in a single file before the truck hit them at speed. > "I saw a boy driving a pick-up truck approaching. At that moment I was chanting ‘Buddho, Buddho’," said monk Phra Sompong, who described the impact and said he and another monk managed to jump aside in time. Five monks died at the scene and three more later died in hospital, authorities reported. Health officials said four monks remained in critical condition and ten were seriously hurt, with additional people treated for lighter injuries. Major General Pairoj Thaiphutsa, commander of the Mukdahan Provincial Police, said the vehicle would be examined for forensic evidence and that the child’s parents had been summoned to determine responsibility. The boy is now in custody and will be questioned when child-protection officers arrive.