'78 died' after riot in Thailand

At least 78 people have died following a riot in southern Thailand, many of them crushed and suffocated after they were arrested and packed tightly into trucks, officials said today.

Dr Pornthip Rojanasunan, a pathologist, told a news conference that she and a team of doctors examined 78 bodies at an army camp in Pattani province and found that most had perished from suffocation.

The dead were among some 1,300 people arrested Monday following a riot in Thailand's Muslim-dominated southern provinces, which have been struck by unrest this year.