By Amah
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A compressed natural gas, CNG, school bus went up in flames in Thailand and consumed 20 pupils and three teachers.
Nineteen other children and three teachers were lucky to survive the crash although they suffered survived with burn injuries.
There were a total of 23 victims, eleven male, seven female and five others who could not be identified.
The bus erupted into flames at Bangkok around 12:38 pm on Wednesday October 2 on a field trip in Thailand while returning the children who went to the north of the country on a school trip, with the vehicle was completely burnt
The children were coming from the Wat Khao Phraya Sangkharam School in Uthai Thani province when the.unfortunate incident happened in Pathum Thani province.
According to witnesses, the incident happened after the bus’s front tyre burst resulting in collision with a concrete barrier which sparked the fire. Attempts by the driver to put out the fire were not successful.
While ages of the children are yet unknown, reports suggested they could be between three and 15 years old as the school caters for pupils between those ages.
Rescuers explained that the collision with the barrier ignited the gas fuel tanks of the bus with the Thailand transport minister Suriyahe Juangroongruangkit describing the gas as ‘extremely risky’.
Identifying bodies of the victims became so difficult, as they were burnt beyond recognition, according to the police.
Reacting, Thailand’s Prime Minister,Paetongtarn Shinawatra, expressed condolences to the victims’ families.
“I have learned of the fire on a bus carrying students from Uthai Thani resulting in deaths and injuries,’’ Paetongtarn wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“As a mother, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the families of the injured and deceased.’’
Thailand ranks among one of the countries with the worst road safety records in the world, recording as many as 20,000 people dead from accidents.
