Thailand suffered a record high of 397 deaths in the first six days of its New Year's festival of Songkran, the Thai transport minister, Arkhom Termpittayapaisit, said on Sunday.
The death toll represents a 30% rise over last year's count across the weeklong festival, with Sunday still unaccounted for during the minister's press conference. A total of 3,104 traffic collisions had occurred, resulting in 3,271 people seriously injured.
SEE ALSO:Thailand literally wants to send drunk drivers to the morgue
Most collisions involved motorcycles.Credit: mark baker/APMost of the deaths were caused by speeding and drink driving, and the vast majority of accidents involved motorcycles, at over 80%, the ministry said. Thailand has one of the highest motorcycle ownership rates in the world, at 87% of households, according to Pew Research Center figures.
The Thai city of Chiangmai logged the highest accident rate of 158, and Nakhon Ratchasima had the most deaths, at 18.
Additionally, police rounded up 110,090 people at safety checkpoints, for offences ranging from being intoxicated to not wearing appropriate safety gear while on the road.
Credit: mark baker/APBut it seems that the actual number of injuries may be far greater than what the transport department says, depending on who you ask. The Bangkok Posthas pointed out that official figures coming from different state departments have varied greatly; the public health ministry recorded 25,516 people being treated at public hospitals -- far higher than the 3,271 figure.
The Songkran festival begins officially on Apr. 13 every year, but the celebrations often start days before. The festivities are perhaps best known worldwide for water fights out on the streets, which brings hordes of tourists to Thai cities armed with water guns.
This is a slice of what Songkran chaos looks like:
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
Tweet may have been deleted
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
(责任编辑：綜合)
Ivanka Trump's unpaid interns share cringeworthy financial advice
Twitter gives NPR "government
See what Google's AI
Is 'You's Joe a Swiftie? Penn Badgley weighs inNate Parker is finally thinking about the woman who accused him of rapePole vaulter claims his penis is not to blame
Following the cringeworthy moment in which pole vaulter Hiroki Ogita's penis grazed the bar and he f
...[详细]iOS 17 at WWDC 2023: See key features announced
The iPhone is more than just a phone nowadays. But, it is stilla phone. It's meant to make calls and
...[详细]Apple Weather app down for some users again. What we know
Apple Weather apparently wasn't working for some users Tuesday, which has been a repeated problem in
...[详细]Is 'You's Joe a Swiftie? Penn Badgley weighs in
Who can resist Taylor Swift?The entertainer threads an invisible string from the fall of Ticketmaste
...[详细]Hiddleswift finally followed each other on Instagram after 3 excruciating days
On Aug. 13, 1961, Germany began construction of the Berlin Wall, perhaps the greatest symbol of the
...[详细]watchOS 10: How to add widgets to Apple Watch
Apple's watchOS 10, which is currently available as developer beta, is a big change from the previou
...[详细]Spotify takes down thousands of songs generated by AI startup Boomy
Bots beware, Spotify is cracking down on artificial streaming. Spotify took down tens of thousands o
...[详细]'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for March 29
If Quordleis a little too challenging today, you've come to the right place for hints. There aren't
...[详细]U.S. government issues warning on McDonald's recalled wearable devices
Last week's McDonald's debacle, which saw the fast food giant forced to recall its first wearable tr
...[详细]Everything to know from 'Barbie' character posters
Character posters for Greta Gerwig's Barbiehave dropped, giving us our first glance at the film's ch
...[详细]Man stumbles upon his phone background in real life
Apple's Sensitive Content Warning will blur unwanted nudes
