A bus carrying dozens of primary school children has crashed and caught fire just outside Bangkok, the Thai capital. Sixteen children and three teachers managed to escape, but 22 students and three teachers remain unaccounted for, according to Thailand’s transport minister.
Officials have reported finding ten bodies on the bus, as per the BBC Thai service. Photos from the scene show the bus completely destroyed by the fire. Investigators have been unable to enter the vehicle due to the intense heat, local media reported.
The bus was part of a convoy of three, transporting children and teachers returning from a school field trip in the northern province of Uthai Thani. Transport Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit explained that the bus was powered by compressed natural gas.
“This is a very tragic incident,” Suriya told reporters at the scene. “The ministry must find a way… if possible, to ban passenger vehicles like this from using this type of fuel because it’s extremely risky.”
Thailand’s prime minister has instructed ministers to visit the scene. “As a mother, I would like to express my deepest regrets to the families of those killed,” Paetongtarn Shinawatra said. “The government will cover all medical costs and offer compensation to the families of those who lost their lives.”
A rescue worker explained that the bus was traveling on a highway into Bangkok when a tyre burst, causing it to crash into a barrier. Video footage showed flames engulfing the bus under an overpass, with thick black smoke billowing into the air.
The driver fled the scene, but Thailand’s Interior Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, expressed confidence that the authorities would locate him soon. It is unclear how old the children on board were, though the school caters to students between the ages of three and 15.
Thailand has one of the worst road safety records in the world, with unsafe vehicles and poor driving contributing to roughly 20,000 fatalities a year.
