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At least 23 children and teachers are feared dead after a bus carrying students caught fire in suburban Bangkok on Tuesday.
The school bus was carrying 44 passengers from central Uthai Thani province to Bangkok for a trip when the fire started around noon in Pathum Thani province, a northern suburb of the capital, transport minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit told reporters at the scene.
The children on the bus were reported to be primary school and young secondary school age.
Interior minister Anutin Charnvirakul said officials could not yet confirm the number of fatalities because they have not finished investigating the scene, but, based on the number of survivors, he said 25 people are feared dead.
Videos posted on social media showed the entire bus being engulfed in flames with huge plumes of black smoke pouring out as it was parked on the road.
A rescuer at the scene said that the fire likely started after one of the tires exploded and the vehicle scraped against a road barrier.
Rescue group Hongsakul Khlong Luang 21 posted on its Facebook page that they found at least 10 bodies on the bus.
Interior minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the driver survived but appeared to have fled and could not yet be found.
Mr Anutin had earlier said 25 were feared dead but Piyalak Thinkaew, a rescuer of the Ruamkatanyu Foundation, told reporters later that two more survivors had been found, reducing the number of those still missing to 23 – three teachers and 20 students.
Rescuers and officials were able to access the bus hours after the fire was put out.
Mr Piyalak said they were still unable to identify the bodies, most of which were found in the middle and back seats, leading them to assume that the fire had started at the front of the bus.
Thai media reports and rescuers said the bus was heading to Nonthaburi when the fire started around noon.
Prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra offered her condolences in a post on X saying the government would take care of medical expenses and compensate the victims’ families.
The patRangsit Hospital, which is located near the scene, said in a news conference that it had admitted three young girls, one of whom suffered burns to the face, mouth and eye.
