At least nine Burmese migrant workers have been killed after a truck they were riding in was hit by a ten-wheeled lorry in the Thai port town of Mahachai, near Bangkok.
The accident happened yesterday morning. Early reports suggest that nearly 50 people were injured.
“The truck picking up [the migrants] for work was hit in the rear by the ten-wheel truck and it flew up in the air – seven people were killed on the spot and two more died at the hospital,” said Sein Htay of the Thailand-based Human Rights Development Foundation.
Some of the victims worked at one of the shrimp markets in Bangkok. The crash reportedly took place on a road running beneath a bridge in front of the market.
Of the nearly 50 injured, 32 have been hospitalised, some with serious injuries. The Mahachai mayor reportedly visited the survivors in hospital and offered donations.
Migrant rights groups are now seeking compensation for the injured, as well as the families of those who died.
More than three million Burmese migrants are estimated to live in Thailand, the majority working in low-skilled industries such as fishing and construction where accidents are common. The quasi-legal status many of them hold means they often struggle to claim compensation.