More than 23 people, including young children, are feared dead after their school coach caught fire during a field trip on the outskirts of the Thai capital, Bangkok.
The double-decker coach, which was carrying 39 students and six teachers, is reported to have caught fire after a burst tyre caused the vehicle to scrape along a metal crash barrier, creating sparks that ignited the petrol tank.
Sixteen children and three teachers were rushed to hospital, according to the transport minister, Suriya Juangroongruangkit, who said the cause of the fire would be investigated.
Local media reported that the children, from nursery school age to 14 years old, were from Wat Khao Phraya Sangkharam school in Uthai Thani province, and had been on a one-day school trip to Ayutthaya historical park in Ayutthaya and the Electricity Generating Authority learning centre in Nonthaburi province. Their coach was one of three on the trip, and had been due to arrive back at their school at 8pm, according to the broadcaster Thai PBS.
“Some of the bodies we rescued were very, very small. They must have been very young in age,” Piyalak Thinkaew, who is leading the search, told reporters.
“The kids’ instinct was to escape to the back, so the bodies were there,” he said. The bodies were so badly burned that it was hard to identify them, he said.
Footage from the scene showed the coach completely engulfed in flames, with huge plumes of black smoke billowing out.
The incident occurred at about 12.30pm, on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road in Pathum Thani on the northern outskirts of the capital.
The prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, wrote on social media: “As a mother, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the families of the injured and deceased.”
The interior minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, earlier said 25 people were feared dead. However, Piyalak Thinkaew, a rescuer from the Ruamkatanyu Foundation charity, has since told media that two more survivors have been found. Three teachers and 20 students remained missing.
Anutin said the driver had survived but appeared to have fled and could not yet be found.
Thailand has repeatedly been ranked as having one of the world’s worst road-safety records, with road traffic accidents resulting in about 20,000 deaths and 1 million injuries each year, according to the World Health Organization.
Associated Press and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report
Source: theguardian.com
