(AP)- A bus carrying young students and their teachers on a school trip burst into flames in a Bangkok suburb on Tuesday, killing more than 20, officials and rescue workers said.
Acting Police Commissioner Kitrat Phanphet said the bus, carrying 45 passengers, six teachers and 39 primary and secondary school students, was traveling from the central province of Uthai Thani when it caught fire in Pathum Thani province, a northern suburb of the Thai capital. .
The fire was first reported around noon and was brought under control less than an hour later, but rescue workers said they were unable to climb aboard for hours because of the heat inside the natural gas-powered vehicle. This could have resulted in further explosions.
Kirat said police were still working to identify the dead, but three teachers and 20 students were missing.
The cause of the fire could not be immediately known. Kitrat said preliminary investigation indicated that the tire burst and sparked, causing a fire that spread throughout the bus. He did not give further information.
There were no other vehicles involved, he said.
There were discrepancies in reports about the number of people on board the bus. Rescuers quoted surviving teachers as saying that there were three school buses for the trip and that on the way, some students changed to different buses than the ones they had initially used.
In the video posted on social media, the entire bus is seen engulfed in fire and black smoke is coming out from it.
Piyalak Thinkev, a rescue worker with the Rum Katanyu Foundation, told reporters that most of the bodies were found in the middle and rear seats, leading to speculation that the victims had been driven to the back and that the fire had started in the front of the bus.
Kitrat said police were searching for the driver who apparently fled the scene, adding that if the bus company and those involved were found responsible, a case could be registered against them.
“An incident like this causes great sadness and pain,” he told reporters at a news conference.
“There is no way for us to distort the facts or help anyone escape justice,” Kirat said. He said 16 students were treated for minor injuries and then sent home, while three others were admitted to hospital.
Nearby Petrangsit Hospital said three girls were initially treated, one of them with burns to her face, mouth and eyes. Surgeon Anocha Takham said doctors will do everything possible to save the nearly 7-year-old girl from losing her vision.
The girls were later transferred to other hospitals for further treatment.
Kitrat said a teacher who survived told police that the fire spread so quickly that she did not even have time to pick up her mobile phone. Some people on the boat managed to escape through the doors while others jumped through the windows.
Prime Minister Patongtaran Shinawatra expressed his condolences in a post on social media platforms. He later visited the injured in hospital.
When journalists asked him about the fire at Government House, Patongtarn became emotional and started crying bitterly. Patongtaran became prime minister in August and is the mother of two children.
The accident has drawn criticism regarding the safety of children traveling for long periods on the roads in provinces that are known for high rates of traffic accidents and deaths.
The World Health Organization estimates that 20,000 people die and one million are injured each year in traffic accidents in Thailand.