India, July 3 -- At least eight Buddhist monks were killed and 13 others injured after an 11-year-old boy, allegedly driving his parents' pickup truck, ploughed into a religious procession in Thailand's Mukdahan province on Thursday, according to local media reports.

The accident occurred on the Mukdahan-Don Tan Road near Ban Na Wiang Kae in Na Si Nuan subdistrict of Mueang district, where a group of 35 monks and five lay followers were walking as part of a pilgrimage.

Initial reports indicated that three monks died at the scene, while the remaining victims succumbed to their injuries later in hospital.

Police found several injured monks lying by the roadside. Nearby was the suspected vehicle - a bronze-gold Isuzu single-cab pickup tru...