There are more than twenty in Thailand young students and teachers died when the bus they were on caught fire. The fire broke out in a suburb of the capital Bangkok.
The 44 passengers were on their way on a school trip. Nothing is known about the ages of the victims, but the students are said to be in primary school and secondary school. Emergency services are still investigating.
It took a while before they could get on the bus because of the heat. Not all bodies have been recovered yet, but by counting the number of survivors, it is assumed that 23 people have died. It concerns twenty students and three teachers.
Tire blowout
The driver of the bus is said to have survived the accident, but probably fled. The Minister of the Interior says he has not yet been found.
Videos circulating on social media showed the entire bus on fire and billowing plumes of black smoke. A rescue worker suspects the fire was caused by a tire blowout, which caused the vehicle to scrape past a roadblock.
Thailand’s Prime Minister has expressed her condolences to the passengers and relatives of the victims. She pledged that the government would pay medical costs and compensate victims’ families.
