More than 20 people were killed after a bus carrying students and faculty on a school trip in Thailand crashed and caught fire near the capital, Bangkok, on Tuesday, officials said.
Thai Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said nearly 25 people had died, although authorities had not yet confirmed the official death toll and infection rate. Most of the victims are believed to be school-age children.
Reuters reported that 16 students and three teachers were sent to hospital for treatment.
Although the exact cause of the bus fire remains unknown, Thai Transport Minister Suryahi Juangroongruangkit said the vehicle was running on “extremely dangerous” compressed natural gas.
Suriah told reporters at the scene of the double-decker bus crash that Thailand should implement measures to ban vehicles that use this type of natural gas as fuel.
Rescue workers and firefighters surround a burning bus carrying students and teachers on the outskirts of Bangkok on Tuesday.
Manan Vatsyayana/AFP via Getty Images
Videos and photos from the devastating bus accident show rescuers surrounding the burned vehicle as it lay under an overpass. The inferno was reported around noon local time and lasted less than an hour before it was choked off.
Get daily national news
Get the day’s top political, economic and current affairs news, headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
Once the large plumes of black smoke had mostly stopped and it was safe to enter the burning vehicle, rescuers were seen carrying the wrapped bodies of the victims out of the wreckage.
The Associated Press reported that the bus was carrying 45 passengers at the time of the accident, including six teachers and 39 students in primary and middle schools. There were discrepancies between local media reports about the number of people on board the bus at the time of the accident.
The bus was heading from the central province of Uthai Thani when it caught fire in Pathum Thani province, north of Bangkok.
A relative of a student who died in a bus fire covers the eyes of a child who was traveling on a separate bus as part of the same school trip as they walked near the burning wreckage near Bangkok on Tuesday.
Manan Vatsyayana/AFP via Getty Images
The accident is still under investigation.
According to the BBC, some Witnesses He said that the front tire of the bus exploded and the car collided with a concrete barrier on the highway.
Hell began quickly after the accident. Eyewitnesses reported that many bus passengers were unable to escape.
At a news conference on Tuesday, acting police chief Kitirat Vanvit said the fire was likely caused by a spark from the exploded tire that ignited the gas cylinder used to start the car.
The bus driver reportedly fled the scene, although Thai officials said they were searching for him.
The identity of some of the deceased has not yet been identified due to the severity of the burns on their bodies.
Firefighters and rescue workers stand next to a burning bus carrying students and teachers on the outskirts of Bangkok on Tuesday.
Manan Vatsyayana/AFP via Getty Images
Thai Prime Minister Pitongtarn Shinawatra expressed her sympathy for the victims of the X accident.
“As a mother, I want to express my feelings My deepest condolences She wrote in Thai: “To the families of the injured and deceased.”
Shinawatra said that the Thai government will cover the medical expenses of the surviving victims and provide financial compensation to the families of the dead.
There were no other vehicles involved in the bus accident.
News of the accident sparked criticism about the safety of children who travel long hours across the provinces on roads known for high rates of traffic accidents and deaths.
The World Health Organization estimates that 20,000 people are killed and one million injured every year in road accidents in Thailand. The country has one of the worst road safety records in the world.
— With files from The Associated Press
&Copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
