Six killed as truck derails Thai train

BANGKOK, Mar 22 (Reuters) Six people -- a Malaysian woman and five Thai men -- were killed today when a truck crashed through the gates of a level crossing and derailed a train, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) said on today.

The 12-car Butterworth-Bangkok express went off the rails in Ratchaburi, 100 km (60 miles) west of Bangkok, after the truck crashed through the closed gates, an SRT official said.

Two of the carriages had passed the crossing when the truck, laden with grain, hit.

''The truck hit the train's third car,'' the official said.

Five people, including the Malaysian woman, were killed immediately and another died in hospital, an SRT official said. The woman and two of the Thais were in the train, while the three other Thais were in the truck.

REUTERS PR RN1213