Thailand train collision with pickup truck kills 8 people and injures 4

Eight people were killed when a freight train struck a pickup truck that was crossing railway tracks in an eastern province of Thailand early Friday morning, authorities said.
According to the State Railway of Thailand, the accident at 2:20 a.m. (19:20 GMT) also injured four people in the Muang district of Chachoengsao province.
The 54-year-old driver told authorities he saw the approaching train and heard a warning horn. The railway agency said, he slowed, but passengers in the vehicle urged him to keep going. When he realized the truck was headed for a collision, he could not stop in time.
Suraphat Prasop was in the truck carrying workers to Laem Chabang in Chonburi Province. He told authorities that he saw the train approaching as the vehicle was about to cross the railway. He said, despite hearing the train’s horn blast three times, the driver did not stop.
The rail agency said, the deceased included three women ages 22, 55 and 64 and five men ages 18, 27, 55, 60 and 62.