Van, truck collide, catch fire on Thai highway, killing 25

BANGKOK (AP) — A van and a pickup collided and caught fire on a highway in eastern Thailand on Monday afternoon, killing 25 people, authorities said.

The public transit van lost control and crossed the grass median, colliding with the pickup truck going in the opposite direction Monday afternoon, according to Thai Road Accident Data for Road Safety Culture, which compiles electronic insurance reports.

Twenty-five people were killed and two survived the crash, said police Col. Dusadee Kunchorn Na Ayutthaya, superintendent of the Ban Bung district police station in Chonburi province.

"An accident like this shouldn't happen but it did," Dusadee said. Both drivers were killed. Police were not yet able to interview the survivors but were investigating to determine what caused the crash.

Thailand has one of the highest traffic fatality rates in the world.