The school children and teachers were returning from a trip when the bus powered with compressed natural gas caught fire. Photo: Handout
Atleast 23 people were killed on Tuesday in a bus that loaded with schoolchildren and teachers after it caught fire at the outskirts of Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.
According to the Thailand Police spokesperson, there were 23 bodies that found on the double-decker bus.
Also, nineteen other people were injured, a doctor said.
Rescue workers were still trying to recover the bodies from the wreckage on Tuesday evening, according to Thailand’s interior minister, Anutin Charnvirakul but did not give an official death toll.
Interior minister added that the bus was powered by compressed natural gas, a fuel that makes vehicles more prone to fire compared with diesel.
The driver fled the scene, Mr. Anutin said.
The bus was one of three that were carrying children and teachers from the province of Uthai Thani, which is northwest of Bangkok. They were returning from a school field trip to the ancient temples of Ayutthaya. The school’s students range in age from 4 to 15 years old.
The episode occurred at about 12:30 p.m. on a road in Pathum Thani on the northern outskirts of the capital. The fire happened after a tire exploded, causing the bus to zigzag and hit a barrier, according to Pornprapa Aundonkloy, a teacher who was on another bus. The interior minister provided a similar account.
When the other bus arrived at the scene, two young students jumped off the bus, Ms. Pornprapa told local reporters. She carried them and said their bodies were swollen from the fire.
Ms. Pornprapa said that only the front door of the bus could open. “If the back door could open, more children would have survived,” she added.
The fire happened so quickly that teachers onboard could not grab their phones, according to the Royal Thai Police’s acting national police chief, Police Gen. Kittirat Panpetch. Several teachers could get out through the door, but some students were forced to jump through the windows.
“The rest were probably shocked and couldn’t come out,” General Kittirat said. “We are in the process of checking who are those children.”
Dr. Anocha Takham, a surgeon from PatRangsit Hospital, said the facility received three female patients, including a child whose corneas were burned.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was teary as she spoke about the incident and said the government would cover all medical costs and compensation.
“As a mother, I would like to express my deepest regrets to the families of those killed,” she said.
泰國校車起火 至少23人死亡
週二，一輛滿載學童和教師的巴士在泰國首都曼谷郊區起火，造成至少 23 人死亡。
據泰國警方發言人稱，在雙層巴士上發現了23具屍體。
一名醫生告訴記者，另外有十九人受傷。
泰國內政部長阿努廷·查維拉庫 (Anutin Charnvirakul) 表示，週二晚上，救援人員仍在試圖從殘骸中打撈屍體，但沒有公佈官方死亡人數。
內政部長補充說，這輛公車由壓縮天然氣提供動力，與柴油相比，這種燃料使車輛更容易著火。
阿努丁說，司機逃離了現場。
這輛巴士是三輛載有來自曼谷西北部烏泰他尼府的兒童和教師的巴士之一。 他們從學校實地考察大城府的古老寺廟回來。 學校的學生年齡從4歲到15歲不等。
事件發生在中午12點30分左右。 首都北郊巴吞他尼府的一條道路上。 據另一輛公車上的老師 Pornprapa Aundonkloy 說，火災是在輪胎爆炸後發生的，導致公車曲折行駛並撞上障礙物。 內政部長也提供了類似的說法。
蓬普拉帕告訴當地記者，當另一輛巴士到達現場時，兩名年輕學生跳下了巴士。 她抱著他們，說他們的身體因火而腫脹。
蓬普拉帕女士說，只有公車的前門可以打開。 「如果後門可以打開，更多的孩子就會活下來，」她補充道。
泰國皇家警察代理國家警察局長基蒂拉特潘佩奇 (Kittirat Panpetch) 上將表示，火災發生得太快，船上的老師都拿不到手機。 幾位老師可以從門出去，但有些學生被迫從窗戶跳出去。
基蒂拉特將軍說：“其餘的人可能都感到震驚而無法出來。” “我們正在檢查那些孩子是誰。”
帕特蘭實醫院 (PatRangsit Hospital) 的外科醫生阿諾查·塔坎 (Anocha Takham) 醫生表示，該醫院收治了三名女性患者，其中包括一名角膜被燒傷的兒童。
總理白東坦·西那瓦 (Paetongtarn Shinawatra) 談到這一事件時淚流滿面，並表示政府將承擔所有醫療費用和賠償。
她說：“作為一名母親，我謹向遇難者家屬表示最深切的遺憾。”
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