A tragic accident in Thailand has left more than 20 children feared dead after a school bus caught fire on a highway near Bangkok on October 1, 2024.
The bus, carrying 38 children and six teachers, was headed for a school trip when it was engulfed in flames.
Thailand’s Interior Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, confirmed that 21 people escaped the fire, but 23 others are still missing and are presumed dead. He said, “The bodies are so badly burned that identifying them may take days.”
Rescue teams worked to recover the children’s bodies from the wreckage. Piyalak Thinkaew, leading the rescue efforts, explained that many children tried to escape to the back of the bus, where their bodies were found. “Some of the bodies we rescued were very, very small. They must have been very young in age,” he said.
The fire reportedly started after one of the bus’s tires burst, causing the vehicle to crash into a barrier, igniting the flames. The bus was one of three transporting children from a school in Uthai Thani province to a science museum in northern Bangkok.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra expressed her sympathy to the victims’ families, saying, “As a mother, I would like to express my deepest condolences.” She also promised the government would cover medical expenses for survivors and compensate the families of the victims.
Thailand has one of the highest road accident rates in the world, with poor road conditions and vehicle safety contributing to the high number of deaths. Over 20,000 people die on the country’s roads each year, according to the World Health Organization.
