Eight Thai monks killed after child crashes truck into procession

Eight Thai monks have been killed and other people injured after a child drove his family’s pick-up truck into a Buddhist procession.

The child – who media reports said is 11 years old – stole his parents’ vehicle on Thursday and drove into a procession of about 30 monks on a pilgrimage in Thailand’s northeastern Mukdahan, local police told Al Jazeera.

Reports said 10 to 20 other people were injured, according to police and health officials.

The group of monks and lay followers were walking along a roadside in Mukdahan, about 600km northeast of the capital Bangkok, when the incident occurred.

They had started the 260-km walk to Ubon Ratchathani province about 30 minutes before the crash, the Associated Press reported.

Security camera footage shared by a local rescue group, Ruam Jai Mukdahan Rescue Association, shows the monks walking in a single line on the side of a road before the truck crashes into them.

“I saw a boy driving a pick-up truck approaching. At that moment I was chanting ‘Buddho, Buddho’ [a meditation mantra],” one monk, identified as Phra Sompong, said in a video posted online by local rescue workers.

“Then suddenly the truck hit at full speed and crashed [into] us, like this,” he said, gesticulating.

“Luckily another monk and I managed to jump out of the way in time,” he added.

“The first nine monks in line survived. But others who were hit were thrown into the air.”

Five monks died at the scene and three more later died in hospital, police said.

CCTV footage from a nearby property shows the monks walking along the road, multiple vehicles driving past and then the sound of a loud crash before the procession stops.

Health authorities said four monks were in critical condition in Mukdahan Hospital, and 10 others were seriously hurt, while more were being treated for lighter injuries.

Police said the boy had taken his parents’ pick-up truck without permission before losing control of the vehicle and crashing into the monks.

Police added that the boy is now in custody and will be questioned when state child protection officers arrive.

“The suspect is a child. The vehicle has been taken for forensic examination to determine the cause,” Major General Pairoj Thaiphutsa, commander of the Mukdahan Provincial Police, told reporters.

“We’ve asked the child’s parents to come in so we can determine who is responsible for the child’s care, so we can go on with [the] legal process,” he added.

Buddhist monks are highly venerated in Thailand, entrusted with preserving and passing on the Buddha’s teachings.

They often hold public processions and are widely seen receiving alms of goodwill from ordinary Thais.