An 11-year-old boy driving a pickup truck crashed into a group of Buddhist monks walking on pilgrimage in north-eastern Thailand on Thursday, killing at least eight and injuring more than a dozen, according to local police and provincial officials. The collision occurred on a road in Mukdahan province, about 600 km from Bangkok, roughly 30 minutes after the monks had set out on a 260-km journey to Ubon Ratchathani.

Five monks died at the scene and three others succumbed to injuries in hospital, Mukdahan governor Worayan Bunnarat told reporters. Some later reports from the provincial administration raised the death toll to nine, while medical sources said four of the injured remained in critical condition. The group comprised 35 monks and, by some accounts, five lay followers; survivors described walking in single file along the roadside when the vehicle swerved and struck them from behind.

The boy, who according to police took the vehicle without his parents’ permission, lost control before the impact. He was taken into custody and will be questioned in the presence of child protection officers, authorities said. Police have summoned the parents to determine responsibility for the child’s care and indicated that legal proceedings, potentially including negligence charges, would follow. Some officials, including the provincial police chief, described the child as having special needs, though that detail was not uniformly confirmed.

Thailand has one of the world’s highest rates of road fatalities, a fact acknowledged by Governor Bunnarat, who said the case should serve as a wider warning on road safety. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, with forensic examination of the vehicle under way. No charges have been filed, and police said the boy was still in a state of shock and unable to provide a statement.