At least 18 tourists were killed and about 20 others injured when a tourist bus carrying them crashed in the east of the country, Thai media confirmed on Wednesday, without confirming the nationalities of the victims.

Police have launched an investigation into the accident without confirming the nationalities of the victims, according to Russia Today.

Local authorities reported that around 20 of the injured have been hospitalised, while rescuers continue to search for the rest of the missing.

The accident occurred in Prachinburi province in the eastern part of the kingdom, 120 kilometres from Bangkok.

The accident happened when a group of 200 tourists were travelling in three buses, the last of which lost control and crashed.