Bus inferno: 20 students, 3 teachers killed
The fire-gutted bus that was carrying 38 students and six teachers on a field trip from Uthai Thani, on the highway in the Rangsit area of Pathum Thani on Tuesday. (Photo: Pongpat Wongyala)
Twenty students and three teachers on a field trip were killed by a fire that raced through their bus in Pathum Thani on Tuesday, while the fate of two others remained unknown.
Sixteen students and three teachers were sent to nearby hospitals for treatment, Transport Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit said, adding that the causes of the accident were being investigated.
Of the three injured students admitted to patRangsit Hospital for treatment of burns, two had to be put on ventilators, local media reports quoted doctors as saying.
The driver of the bus, identified as Samarn Chankut, initially fled the scene and his mobile phone was turned off, acting national police chief Pol Lt Gen Kittirat Phunphet said.
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It was later reported that he had fled to Ang Thong but then turned himself in to police there on Tuesday night. He is now being held at Khu Khot police station in Pathum Thani.
Rescue workers said 15 of the dead passengers were primary school pupils and six were high schoolers. Six kindergarten pupils on the bus survived.
The bus was carrying 38 students, from Kindergarten 2 to Mathayom 3, and six teachers from Wat Khao Praya Sangkharam school in Lan Sak district of Uthai Thani province.
Rescuers who rushed to the scene said the bus’s front left tyre had blown out, and the wheel caught fire. The driver lost control, the bus hit the median barrier and the flames rapidly spread up and through the vehicle.
Early images posted on social media and carried by local news outlets showed thick grey smoke pouring out of the bus, parts of which were still on fire.
The bus was the second of a three-bus fleet taking students to an exhibition at the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand in Bang Kruai district in Nonthaburi. They had earlier visited History Park in Ayutthaya. It was a one-day educational trip.
The bus involved belonged to Chinnaboot Tour, based in Sing Buri.
The school posted a Facebook message asking all parents of students on the trip to assemble at the school, where it had set up a coordination centre to help them. (Story continues below)
First responders work inside the fire-gutted bus on Tuesday in Pathum Thani. (Photo: Reuters/Chalinee Thirasupa)
PM in tears
A tearful Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra sent condolence messages to the families of those who lost their lives or were injured and said the government would cover medical costs and provide financial aid to the victims and bereaved families.
She later followed up with a visit to patRangsit hospital, where she was visibly moved by her encounters with survivors.
Local media reports quoted Dr Thanapong Jinwong, head of the Centre for Road Safety, as questioning whether there were fire extinguishers on board the coach and whether they had been used.
He said the coach had one exit in the middle and another at the back, which was closed and was too high for the children to climb through and escape.
Unconfirmed reports said the gas-powered bus had a leak. Police and the Department of Land Transport plan to investigate whether the gas installation was original or a later modification, and whether it met safety standards.
First responders prepare to carry bodies out of the fire-gutted bus on Tuesday in Pathum Thani. (Photo: Reuters/Chalinee Thirasupa)
Firefighters hose down the bus that caught fire while carrying teachers and students from a school in Uthai Thani, killing at least 23 people including 20 students, in Pathum Thani on Tuesday. (Photo: Reuters/Chalinee Thirasupa)
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