Bangkok - Road accidents claimed 278 lives and injured 2,996 people during the first four of the "seven dangerous days of New Year holidays," officials said Saturday.
Thailand's Road Safety Centre said 2,793 road accidents were reported on the kingdom's highways from Tuesday to Friday.
Thailand officially started a five-day New Year's break on Wednesday, but the days before and after the holidays are deemed dangerous for motorists as many vacationers leave early or arrive a day late to beat the holiday traffic.
On Friday, 464 accidents occurred, killing 52 people and injuring 492 others, the centre said.
More than 40 per cent of the road accidents were attributed to drunk driving.
Sydney - A Thai man who had overstayed his visa made a big mistake when he drove his car at 137 kilometres an hour in a Sydney restricted zone shortly after midnight Saturday, police said.
Bangkok - Thai authorities on Friday were investigating the legal status of the Santika Pub where a fire broke out at a New Year's Eve party, killing at least 59 people and injuring more than 240.
As of Friday, forensic specialists had been able to issue death certificates for only 29 of the fire's victims, including one Singaporean, police and metropolitan authorities said.
At least 54 of the injured were listed in critical condition, and it was not clear how many people had succumbed to their injuries in hospital overnight.
Chulalongkorn Hospital performed emergency surgery on Japanese national Keiichi Wada, 25, to drain water from his abdomen, according to The Nation online news service. Wada suffered burns to 60 per cent of his body.
Thailand, Jan 1 : At least 59 people died in a fire thought to have been started by an indoor fireworks display at a Bangkok nightclub during New Year''s Eve celebrations.
According to The Telegraph, nearly 200 others were injured in the blaze at the upmarket Santika nightclub, which is popular with foreign tourists and was full to its
1,000-person capacity.
Bangkok - A fire that broke out shortly after midnight Thursday at a popular Bangkok pub killed at least 59 revellers, including some foreigners, and injured 212, police said.
The fire, apparently sparked by a pyrotechnic show to bring in the New Year, broke out about 12:20 am (1720 GMT Wednesday) at the popular Santika Club, which was packed with some 1,000 revellers.
Police Colonel Suphin Sapphuang said 59 people had been confirmed dead - 53 at the scene and six who succumbed to their injuries later in hospital, the Bangkok Post online news service reported.
Bangkok 
Thailand, Jan 1 : At least 59 people died in a fire thought to have been started by an indoor fireworks display at a Bangkok nightclub during New Year''s Eve celebrations.
Bangkok - A fire that broke out shortly after midnight Thursday at a popular Bangkok pub killed at least 59 revellers, including some foreigners, and injured 212, police said.
