Fifteen dead in Thai school bus crash

BANGKOK, Feb 28 (AFP): At least 15 people, including 13 children, were killed when a bus carrying students on a trip to the seaside collided with a lorry in eastern Thailand Friday, police said.

The smash is the latest in a series of deadly accidents involving buses in Thailand, where roads are among the most dangerous in the world.

Forty-seven others were injured in the pre-dawn accident in Prachinburi province involving a double-decker bus and an 18-wheel truck, the authorities said.

The students, aged around 10 to 14 years old, were heading to the resort city of Pattaya from the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima.

Twenty-three of those hurt are in hospital with injuries including broken arms and legs, the Public Health Ministry said.

A row of bodies covered by sheets was seen laid out by the side of the wreckage of the bus, whose top deck was crushed on one side.

Police said the bus driver had fled the scene of the crash-a relatively common occurrence in Thailand, where safety standards are generally poor.