Thailand suffered a record high of 397 deaths in the first six days of its New Year's festival of Songkran, the Thai transport minister, Arkhom Termpittayapaisit, said on Sunday.

The death toll represents a 30% rise over last year's count across the weeklong festival, with Sunday still unaccounted for during the minister's press conference. A total of 3,104 traffic collisions had occurred, resulting in 3,271 people seriously injured.

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Most collisions involved motorcycles.Credit: mark baker/AP

Most of the deaths were caused by speeding and drink driving, and the vast majority of accidents involved motorcycles, at over 80%, the ministry said. Thailand has one of the highest motorcycle ownership rates in the world, at 87% of households, according to Pew Research Center figures.

The Thai city of Chiangmai logged the highest accident rate of 158, and Nakhon Ratchasima had the most deaths, at 18.

Additionally, police rounded up 110,090 people at safety checkpoints, for offences ranging from being intoxicated to not wearing appropriate safety gear while on the road.

Credit: mark baker/AP

But it seems that the actual number of injuries may be far greater than what the transport department says, depending on who you ask. The Bangkok Posthas pointed out that official figures coming from different state departments have varied greatly; the public health ministry recorded 25,516 people being treated at public hospitals -- far higher than the 3,271 figure.

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The Songkran festival begins officially on Apr. 13 every year, but the celebrations often start days before. The festivities are perhaps best known worldwide for water fights out on the streets, which brings hordes of tourists to Thai cities armed with water guns.

This is a slice of what Songkran chaos looks like:

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