Nine people including two British tourists were injured in a bus crash in Thailand on Friday.

The vehicle carrying the holidaymakers was travelling to Koh Lanta island when it collided head-on with a six-wheeler truck that veered into its lane in Krabi province on June 14.

Police Captain Siam Suan-in, Deputy Chief of Investigation of the Khlong Thom Police Station, said the accident happened along the Khlong Thom - Koh Lanta Road at around 9 am.

Cops and emergency personnel arrived at the scene, where several locals were trying to rescue the passengers trapped in the crumpled van.

Officials identified the injured as British tourists Beatrice Sexton, 23, and Andrew Brown, 27, who were treated for their injuries.

Canadian Conor Richel Morgan, 29, Egyptian May Mohamed Ahmed Elghety, 25, along with French tourists Barrie Anexis, 35, and Valenthin Maeva Chatelier, 25, were also injured.

The truck driver and the other passengers were all Thai natives. They were identified as Prawit Sae-aui, Ekkarat Damkul, and the driver, Suthon Chaona.

The injured were taken to different nearby hospitals for treatment.

Police Captain Siam said: 'According to witnesses, the tour bus was heading to Koh Lanta. There is a curve in the road and the scene of the crash. The bus was hit by the ice truck that was overtaking another car and crossed into the opposite lane. 

'We believe that the ice truck driver might have fallen asleep, causing him to lose control and crash into the van, but the exact cause will be thoroughly investigated.'

Despite being one of the wealthiest countries in Asia, Thailand suffers from chronic underinvestment in its highways and education, contributing to its poor road safety levels. Only a handful of African countries are worse.

Thailand has one of the world's worst road safety records. Ministers have set the goal of reducing fatalities from 32.7 deaths per 100,000 people to 12 per 100,000 people by the year 2027.