As many as 22 children, between the ages of eight and nine, are feared to have been killed in an explosion and the horrific fire that followed after their school bus crashed just outside the capital of Thailand, Bangkok.
The group, including six teachers, were on a day trip to an electricity plant when a wheel exploded around 12.38pm local time.
The fire is said to have started in the undercarriage as the vehicle hit the concrete road barriers.
16 children and three teachers are reported to have escaped, but 22 pupils and three teachers are still unaccounted for, according to Thailand’s transport minister.
While the children are believed to be in Grade 3, there are children as young as three attending the Wat Khao Phraya School in Uthai Thani Province.
The country’s prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, has said that the accident resulted in “deaths and injuries” but the exact number of fatalities has not yet been confirmed.
Harrowing photographs show the bus ablaze as firefighters rush to put out the flames along the Vibhavadi Rangsit Road. Images taken after the fire was put out show the bus completely destroyed. Investigators were initially unable to enter the vehicle because of the heat, according to local media.
Eight of the 19 people who managed to escape were sent to hospital for treatment.
Transport Minister Suriyahe Juangroongruangkit said the bus was powered by “extremely risky” compressed natural gas. “This is a very tragic incident,” he told reporters at the scene.
“The ministry must find a measure… if possible, for passenger vehicles like this to be banned from using this type of fuel because it’s extremely risky.”
“As a mother, I would like to express my deepest regrets to the families of those killed,” PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “The government will be responsible for all the medical costs and the compensation for those killed”.
According to the Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, the driver has fled the scene but authorities are confident he will be tracked down.
Songwit, the owner of Chinnaboot Tour company that operates the buses, said as reported by The Mirror: “The staff from the third bus saw the second bus in the convoy erupting into flames that soon swallowed the entire coach.
“We didn’t see any problems with the bus prior to the accident. The gas system is installed properly and the vehicle undergoes routine inspection and maintenance.”
Thailand has one of the world’s worst road safety records. Ministers have set the goal of reducing fatalities from 32.7 deaths per 100,000 people to 12 per 100,000 people by the year 2027.