Eight Buddhist monks were killed and 26 others were injured when an 11-year-old boy drove his father's pickup truck into them in Mukdahan, northeast Thailand, on Thursday morning. The group of 34 monks was walking in single file along the roadside at approximately 11:55 a.m. local time when the vehicle collided with them.
At least eight monks were pronounced dead at the scene, while another 14 were transported to the hospital with critical injuries. The remaining injured monks sustained minor injuries and were treated at the scene.
Police have taken the young driver into custody as they investigate the circumstances surrounding the crash, including how he came to be driving the vehicle. Initial inquiries suggest the truck was taken from the boy's family home without permission.
According to local media reports, the boy's grandmother told authorities that her grandson has special needs and took the vehicle in the morning without her knowledge. She had alerted police to help intercept the truck after it passed a checkpoint on its way to Mukdahan town.
Lieutenant Theera Kaewnet, a traffic police officer, described arriving at the scene to find a large number of monks on the road and roadside, initially mistaking it for a drill before realizing it was an accident.
The monks were on a pilgrimage across the province, traveling from Nam Khun district in Ubon Ratchathani to Don Tan district in Mukdahan. They were collecting alms along their route.
