BANGKOK: An 11-year-old boy crashed a pickup truck into a group of monks on a pilgrimage walk in northeastern Thailand on Thursday, killing eight, officials said.

A total of 35 monks from Mukdahan province, about 600 km northeast of the capital Bangkok, were on the pilgrimage. Five monks were killed at the site, while three others died at a hospital, according to Mukdahan Governor Worrayan Boonnarat. Fourteen others were hospitalised.

Local police said the boy is now in custody.

The police said the cause of the accident is still under investigation, but said they were told by the monks that they saw the vehicle losing balance before it slid off the road and crashed into the group.