several deaths after fire in bus carrying schoolchildren

This Tuesday, a bus carrying schoolchildren caught fire in the suburbs of Bangkok, Thailand, killing several people, confirmed Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, without further details. The Minister of Transport, Suriya Juangroongruangkit, dispatched to the scene of the accident, told journalists that 19 passengers out of 44 (38 children and six teachers) had been rescued.

For the 25 missing people, “we’re not sure yet”he continued. The bus was carrying schoolchildren from the northern province of Uthai Thani on a school trip to the Bangkok area, Paetongtarn Shinawatra said. “As a mother, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the families of the injured and killed”wrote the leader on X.

The accident was caused by a flat tire, which sent the bus into a barrier, a rescuer told a local television channel. The tanks of the bus, which ran on compressed gas, then caught fire, he continued. Images relayed on social networks showed the powerful flames springing from the stopped bus, on a usually busy highway linking Bangkok to its industrial northern suburbs.

Firefighters put out the fire, but rescuers had to wait for the bus to cool before searching it for bodies, according to a rescuer. Thailand has one of the world’s worst road safety records, with unsafe vehicles and poor driving contributing to the high number of deaths each year.