Six were killed and 43 others injured after a bus plunged off the road and fell into a ravine in central Thailand on Thursday, local media reported.

The accident happened Thursday morning when a double-decker coach carrying 50 passengers, including 44 high school students and six teachers, plunged into a roadside ravine in Prachinburi Province, east of Bangkok.

Five of the passengers were reportedly killed on the spot. The other 44 injured were rushed to hospital and one of them died at the hospital.

Initial reports said the bus was running at a high speed off the narrow road in the dark on the downhill sharp curve when the accident happened.

Local media said the driver had fled the scene.

The bus was traveling from northeastern Thailand on a field trip, which was a reward for the students after they completed exams.

Thailand has the world's second most dangerous roads in terms of per capita deaths, according to data collected by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The WHO estimates about 24,000 people die each year in traffic accidents on Thailand's roads. Only Libya records a greater number of fatalities per capita.

Source: Xinhua