Songkran Week Tolls – 351 dead, 8,769 injured
BANGKOK: -- The Interior Ministry’s Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department recorded 351 people were killed and 8,769 injured as a result of road accidents during the national holiday of Songkran week.
On 14 April alone, a number of 1,714 traffic accidents have been reported, taking 40 lives and injuring 2,151. Still, these figures represented a slight recline in casualities from last year, said Deputy Interior Minister Sermsak Pongpanit.
In an overall picture, nearly 8,800 traffic accidents occurred nationwide during 8-14 April, killing 351. Bangkok and Nakhon Ratchasima record the highest number of death tolls at 16 each. The only three provinces without any death toll during this year’s Songkran so far are Narathiwat, Mae Hong Son and Satun.
Mr. Sermsak said motorcycles are responsible for the most of the road accidents recorded yesterday, and most accidents happened in secondary and rural roads, outside the major highways.
The Deputy Interior Minister urged drivers to be careful and encouraged them to use roadside rest stations if they are too exhausted or too sleepy to drive in order to reduce road accident and fatality.