Nearly 40 people die on first day of Songkran festival

BANGKOK, April 12 (TNA) - The Ministry of Transport has reported that a total of 39 people died and 342 others injured throughout Thailand on Thursday, the first day of the Songkran festival’s “seven dangerous days,” this year. Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt told a press conference on Friday that a total of 326 road accidents occurred throughout the country on Thursday, with the southern Nakhon Si Thammarat Province and the northern resort Chiang Mai Province recorded most accidents of 14 each, followed by the northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima Province with 13 accidents. Chadchart said 29 per cent out of Thursday’s total road accidents were attributed to drunk driving, followed by speeding, noting, however, that the amount of accidents related to drink and drive fell about one per cent compared to the corresponding period of last year, and that most accidents on Thursday involved motorcycles, followed by trucks. The Thai government has launched a campaign forbidding drivers from consuming alcoholic beverages while driving during the annual water-splashing festival in a bid to reduce fatalities among Songkran revelers.(TNA)