A school bus was consumed by flames this Tuesday in Bangkok (Thailand) after suffering an accident when the driver lost control of the vehicle. As a consequence, 22 children and 3 teachers They have lost their lives, while the bus driver fled when he saw the flames.
The vehicle was transporting 38 students and 6 teachers from the school. Wat Khao Phrayalocated in the province of Uthai Thaniand was heading north of Bangkok, where the accident occurred. Only 19 people have managed to survive the accident (16 students and another 3 teachers).
Likewise, the bus driver, identified as Samarhas already been detained by the Thai authorities, because he turned himself in on the same day of the event after have hidden for several hours at a relative’s house. He is charged with the following crimes: reckless driving with fatal results and leave the scene of the accident without providing help.
As reported by the country’s authorities, the detainee declared that he was driving at a speed of between 70 or 80 kilometers per hour when he lost control of the bus while going over a pothole, which in turn caused a tire to burst and caused a side collision that preceded the fire. Seeing the flames, the Thai man tried to call for help and grabbed a fire extinguisher from another vehicle, but when he was overcome by the accident he decided to flee.
According to official records, this school houses students from the time they start kindergarten until they are 15 years old, although, at the moment, the ages of the passengers affected in the event or the identities of the victims have not been provided.
For its part, Paetongtarn Shinawatrathe Prime Minister of Thailand, has expressed her condolences to the affected families through a message on social networks, ensuring that the government will cover the “medical expenses” of survivors.
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— Ing Shin (@ingshin) October 1, 2024
“I am aware of the bus fire incident in Uthai Thani, where students were traveling on an excursion to Bangkok, which resulted in deaths and injuries. “As a mother, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the families of those injured and killed.”
“As a government, I have ordered the Mr. Anutinto the Mr. Suriya and to Mr. Sabida to go down to the incident area themselves. “The Government will take care of the medical expenses and provide compensation to the family of the deceased.”
The investigation remains open
Although the driver is in police custody, the agents have confirmed that the investigation remains “open” and that they can keep the arrested person detained for 48 hours before taking him to court.
Likewise, one of the unknowns that the Police have is how those 19 people were able to escape, while the other 25 did not. “Given suspicions that the door may have been blocked after the fire, and whether it was influenced by the fact that the two-story vehicle used natural gas as fuel,” the Director General of the Police said the day before during a press conference, Kitrat Phanphet.
Thailand is one of the countries with higher mortality in traffic accidents, with around 20,000 deaths and one million injuries a year, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO).
