Five killed on Thai school trip
Monday, 29 Sep 2008 15:13
A group of tourists, including two Australians and three Thais, have been struck by lightning and killed during a trip in Thailand.
The party were visiting a waterfall in Mukdahan province, north eastern Thailand, when the accident happened, on what was believed to be a school trip.
The five victims were all part of a group of Australian and Thai secondary school students who were visiting the waterfall on Saturday as part of a cultural exchange programme, according to local police Captain Boonsri Dejchai.
A bolt of lightning struck near the base of a tree the group had taken shelter under, after a lightning storm began.
Mr Dejchai confirmed a 41-year-old Australian male teacher who was leading the group from Winthrop Baptist College in Australia was killed instantly, along with two Thai students.
A teenage youth worker from Perth and a Thai student who were hospitalised with injuries died later in a provincial hospital.
Chris O'Toole