Swedish teacher dies in Thailand motorbike smash

A Swedish woman working as a teacher in Thailand has died in motorbike accident. Aftonbladet newspaper on Sunday said that the 49-year-old Swede had been living in working on the island of Koh Lanta on the country’s southern Andaman coast.

The woman was driving her motorbike on the popular holiday island when she collided with a truck, killing her instantly. She is survived by three children, according to reports.

Koh Lanta is highly popular with Swedish tourists and expats; many local schools offer Swedish tuition and numerous Swedes and other Scandinavians live in the area, at least for part of the year.

The Swedish embassy in Bangkok has appointed a priest from a church on the nearby island of Phuket to tend to a crisis group arranged by the teacher’s school, The Local reported on Sunday.

Official statistics show that Thailand has the highest fatality rate in the world for motorbike accidents, with in excess of 11,000 deaths reported each year. Still, only 47 percent of motorbike riders regularly wear helmets.