Four teenage boys, including two Catholic seminarians, were killed in a road crash in Loei province at the height of the Songkran holiday, deepening concerns over deadly road conditions that continue to claim lives during the annual festival.
The April 13 crash, which left a tight-knit Catholic community in northeastern Thailand in mourning, is among hundreds of road accidents recorded nationwide during the first four days of Songkran, when travel surges and safety risks peak despite repeated government warnings.
Thailand’s 2026 Songkran festival has once again been overshadowed by road tragedies, with 755 accidents and 154 deaths recorded nationwide from April 10 to 13, according to the Road Safety Center.
Police said the accident occurred along a notorious curved section of the Loei–Chiang Khan Road, where a motorcycle carrying four boys collided with a pickup truck traveling in the opposite direction.
Photo credit: St. John’s School Thabom
All four victims, aged between 13 and 17, were youth football players from Tha Bom village, home to St. John’s School and Archangel Raphael Parish. They were reportedly returning home when the crash occurred.
Authorities said the impact was severe, with the pickup truck dragging the motorcycle nearly 200 meters before it caught fire. The boys were thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene, while two people in the pickup truck sustained injuries.
The tragedy has deeply shaken the Catholic community in Thabom, particularly as two of the boys were seminarians of the Prince of Peace Seminary. During wake prayers on April 14, one grieving father, Alongkorn Buddha, said his family had long hoped their son would one day be ordained.
“We always told our son of our hope and prayer for his priestly ordination,” he said. “Now, he serves God in heaven instead.”
Educators and community members voiced profound sorrow over the loss. Kannattha Siriphen, director of St. John’s School Thabom, described the deaths as “a great loss for the school, the families, and all who knew them,” noting the close-knit relationship between the students and the Religious of the Assumption Sisters who help guide the school community.
Teachers remembered the boys as respectful, well-behaved students active in both academic and extracurricular life. One of the victims, Kittikhun, a Grade 11 student, was especially noted for his diligence and exemplary conduct.
Sr. Regina Maria Nguyen, RA, of the Religious of the Assumption Thabom community shared a reflection with LiCAS News that captured both the grief and a call to deeper awareness.
“They are still at an age of quietly carrying so many tender, unfinished dreams,” she said. “Their sudden departure has left us in shock, and in a sorrow so deep that their family, friends, teachers, and the Church now carry it in silence. There are no words that can fully hold this loss, only hearts that continue to remember and to grieve.”
Photo credit: St. John’s School Thabom
She urged students to respond with love and urgency. “Whatever love we wish to give, whatever kindness we long to show, whatever words we still hold back—let us offer them to our loved ones today. Let us not wait for tomorrow, for we do not know what tomorrow will bring.”
Condolences poured in from across the country, including priests, religious, teachers, and friends, particularly from the Prince of Peace Seminary of Udon Thani Diocese, the Catholic Education Council of Thailand, and local education authorities.
As the Thabom community prepares for the final rites of the four boys, the local Church points to both the fragility of life and the hope of the Resurrection. Even as roads across Loei remain perilous during the season of travel and celebration, Archangel Raphael Parish has become a place of prayer, holding together a grieving community with faith and solidarity.
