Two Thais were killed and 33 tourists injured when their bus smashed into a tree in Thailand.

The blue and white coach was taking dozens of holidaymakers to the capital Bangkok when it veered off the highway in Tak province, at around 1 am this morning.

The out-of-control vehicle crashed through the guardrail and hurtled into the median strip, where it collided with a tree.

Footage shows rescue teams tending to injured backpackers at the crash site.

The provincial public relations officer said: 'At around 1 am, the Tak Provincial Transport Office and Tak Highway District 1 received a report of an accident in which a bus fell into the median strip, resulting in multiple injuries.

'The vehicle involved in the accident was a Bangkok-Chiang Mai bus that crashed on the median strip. It was traveling from Chiang Mai Province, passing through Tak Province, and heading to Bangkok. Officers inspected the scene and assisted 33 injured people.'

Authorities said the bus conductor was killed at the scene while the driver passed away at the hospital.

The wounded passengers - twenty-nine French and Burmese tourists, and four Thai nationals, aged between seven to 73 - were taken to the Phitsanulok and Wang Jao Hospitals for treatment.

The cause of the accident was under investigation, officials said.

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.

However, a lack of road safety education in schools along with notoriously easy driving tests, police failures to enforce road laws, and chronic under-investment in infrastructure, all appear to hamper the efforts.