Thirteen pupils were injured when their school bus crashed into a tree in Thailand.

The youngsters were on their way to school when the bus driver allegedly fell asleep at the wheel, at around 7:20 am on February 5.

The school bus spun out of control and crashed into a tree in Chachoengsao province. Rescue volunteers and medics arrived at the scene, where the crumpled bus was lying on its side.

Authorities said 13 people, including the driver, were injured - two of them severely. They were taken to the Ratchasan and Phanom Sarakham Hospitals for treatment.

A police spokesman said: 'The bus had been picking up the pupils from their homes in the morning. We believe the driver had dozed off, causing him to lose control of the vehicle and veer into the median strip.

'We will investigate and monitor the driver's condition. He will be interrogated when he is well enough, and we will proceed with further legal action.'

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.