At least six people, including one foreigner, died and more than 20 were injured when a train heading from northern Malaysia to Bangkok slammed into a truck today, police said.

The express train from the Malaysian town of Butterworth crashed into a 10-wheel truck in the central Thai province of Ratchaburi province, 100 km (60 miles) south of Bangkok, police said.

"The truck driver had broken through the train crossing bar and was speeding to beat the train," police Major Chusak Kaythong said from the scene.

Injured in critical condition

Three people in the train and three in the truck were killed, he said. A foreign woman was also killed, but Chusak said police were still trying to determine her nationality.

Many of the 20 injured were in critical condition, he said.

The accident halted traffic for hours on the railway leading south from Bangkok, as work crews moved four train cars that derailed in the accident, he added.