3 dead, 107 hurt in Thai train wreck

Two passenger trains collided near a beach resort town south of Bangkok early Sunday, killing three people and injuring more than 100 others, officials said.

The accident occurred before dawn when a Bangkok-bound train took the wrong track and hit an oncoming train head-on just outside the station in Hua Hin, said Wichai Choochumporn, a rail official.

All three victims were rail employees, according to officials at Hua Hin Hospital, one of three facilities that provided treatment.

Foreigners were among the 107 injured passengers, including an Italian man and a German woman, both of whom were treated for minor injuries, Wichai said.

Most of the injured suffered minor scrapes and bruises and were discharged from hospitals by midday, said Narinthorn Ketkaew, an official at Hua Hin Hospital.

Initial investigations showed that the Bangkok-bound train ignored a red light when it started moving down the wrong track, Wichai said. The other train had departed from Bangkok and was headed to the southern city of Yala.