Bangkok, Thailand – A tragic fire erupted on a school bus in a Bangkok suburb, claiming the lives of several students and teachers on Tuesday, with as many as 25 people feared dead. The incident occurred during a school excursion involving three buses transporting children aged from kindergarten to early teens from Wat Khao Phraya Sangkharam school in Uthai Thani to a field trip destination.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra confirmed the fatalities, expressing her deep sorrow and extending condolences to the families affected by this disastrous event. Details regarding the exact number of casualties remain uncertain, however, at present, Transport Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit reported that 25 individuals are still unaccounted for.
According to initial accounts, the accident was triggered by a tire blowout at approximately 12:30 pm local time. The bus subsequently struck a roadside barrier and was quickly engulfed in flames.
Eyewitness video captured horrific scenes of the bus ablaze beneath an overpass with dense smoke darkening the sky. Emergency response teams were dispatched to the site, where they worked to extinguish the fire and began the grim task of recovering bodies from the charred remains of the bus.
Rescue team leader Piyalak Thinkaew described the harrowing condition of the remains. “Some of the bodies were very small, evidently very young children,” he noted at the scene, indicating that tragedy overwhelmingly affected the students. He further explained that many of the victims appeared to have moved to the back of the bus in a desperate attempt to escape the flames.
The severity of the burns sustained by some of the survivors has added to the anguish, with several children suffering extensive injuries to their faces and eyes, local hospitals reported.
This horrific incident underscores Thailand’s ongoing issues with road safety. With reports from the World Health Organization stating that Thailand has one of the highest road traffic fatality rates globally, this tragic event highlights the urgent need for stringent safety regulations and improvements in vehicle and driver standards.
Shockingly, traffic-related incidents in Thailand lead to approximately 20,000 deaths annually and account for significant economic losses, estimated at over three percent of the nation’s GDP in 2022 by the WHO.
The psychological impact on the community and the victims’ families is profound. Social media posts and local interviews capture a nation in mourning, with many calling for immediate action to prevent such devastating accidents in the future.
As investigations continue, the Thai government faces pressure to review and enhance transportation safety regulations, especially concerning school-related transport, to ensure a tragedy of this magnitude does not occur again.