More than 20 elderly Buddhists die when coach taking them back from trip to temple rolls down a ravine Driver lost control on winding road killing 22 worshippers Dead are mostly elderly women, who were returning from temple visit Bus driver was also injured in crash, and could face charges A coach carrying elderly worshipers coming home from a temple at the end of Buddhist Lent has plunged into a ravine killing at least 22 of the passengers. The bus driver lost control on a winding road in Northern Thailand and the vehicle fell 98 feet in the Wang Nuea district, in Lampang province. As well as the dead, 16 people including the driver of the bus were injured, after visiting a temple to make merit, a Buddhist ritual of performing good deeds or other acts. Thai police officers inspect the wreckage of a bus after it crashed, in Lampang Province, Northern Thailand A bus carrying worshippers to a Buddhist temple in central Thailand crashed into a ravine, killing 22 passengers and injuring 16 others Police colonel Somdet Tossaporn confirmed that most of the dead travellers were women, and that the driver is facing charges for causing deaths by reckless driving. If found guilty he could face a maximum of ten years in jail. Thai rescuers search for passengers of a bus that fell about 30 meters (98 feet) into the ravine on a curvy rural road in Lampang province, Thailand Thai police inspect the wreckage of the crash which killed 22 mostly female Buddhist worshippers During Vassa or Buddhist Lent many monks dedicate the Vassa to intensive meditation. Some Buddhist lay people choose to observe Vassa by giving up luxuries such as meat, alcohol, or smoking. Up to 26,000 people are killed in road accidents every year in Thailand according to the country's interior ministry. The rescue operation on Wednesday night after the bus crashed into a ravine In Thailand every year there are 38.1 deaths per 100,000 in road accidents. 73.5 percent of these deaths are suffered by motorcyclists, while 7.8 percent are pedestrians. This compares to just 3.7 deaths per 100,000 people in the UK, with 47.3 percent of fatalities suffered by people in a car. 21.8 percent of those killed are pedestrians.