Twenty Myanmar migrant workers died early Friday as fire tore through a bus taking them from a Thai border town to Bangkok, officials said. It was not immediately clear how the blaze started on the bus -- one of four travelling together to the Thai capital. Kittisak Boonchan, a rescue worker in Tak province, told reporters there were 47 people on the bus. Low status and poorly paid, migrant workers often fall victim to safety lapses and exploitation in Thailand. The kingdom has a poor road safety record on crashes with around 24,000 people perishing on its roads each year, according to the World Health Organization.

Source: Hindustan Times March 30, 2018 04:30 UTC