(AP) – A bus carrying young students and their teachers caught fire on Tuesday in a Bangkok suburb, killing more than 20 people, officials and rescue workers said.
The bus, carrying 45 passengers, 6 teachers and 39 primary and secondary school students, was traveling from the central province of Udai Thani when it caught fire in Pathum Thani province, a northern suburb of the Thai capital.
The fire, which was first reported around noon, was extinguished within an hour, but could not be climbed for several hours because the heat inside the natural gas-powered vehicle could cause more explosions, rescue workers said.
Police are still working to identify the dead, but three teachers and 20 students are missing, Kittrad said.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known. Kittrad said a preliminary investigation indicated that a tire burst and caused a spark, which caused the fire to spread throughout the bus. He did not give further details.
No other vehicles were involved, he said.
There were discrepancies in the number of passengers in the bus. There were three school buses for the trip, and on the way, some students switched to buses other than the ones they had originally used, rescuers said, citing surviving teachers.
In videos posted on social media, the entire bus was engulfed in flames with black smoke billowing out.
Pialak Dingev, a rescuer from the Ruam Katanyu Foundation, told reporters that most of the bodies were found in the middle and back seats, suggesting that the victims moved to the back and that the fire started in the front of the bus.
Police are looking for the driver, who fled the scene, Kittrad said, and the bus company and other individuals involved could face charges if found responsible.
He told reporters that such an incident causes great pain and sorrow.
“We have no way of distorting the facts or helping anyone,” Kittrad said. He said 16 students were treated for minor injuries and sent home, while three others were hospitalized.
At the nearby PatRangsit Hospital, three girls were first treated there, one of whom had burns on her face, mouth and eyes. Surgeon Anocha Thagam said doctors will do everything possible to save the nearly 7-year-old girl from losing her sight.
The girls were later shifted to other hospitals for further treatment.
A teacher who survived told police the fire spread very quickly, Gidrat said. Some of those on board escaped through the door, while others jumped through the windows.
Prime Minister Padongtern Shinawatra expressed his condolences in a post on social media and later visited the injured in hospital.
When reporters asked him about the fire at Government House, Peidongturn broke down in tears. Paetongtarn became prime minister in August and is a mother of two.
The crash has sparked criticism of the safety of children who travel long hours across provinces on roads known for high rates of traffic accidents and deaths.
The World Health Organization estimates that 20,000 people die and one million are injured in road accidents in Thailand every year.
