2-10-2024 (BANGKOK) A school excursion turned into a nightmare when a bus carrying students and teachers erupted into flames on a motorway near Bangkok. The catastrophe, which claimed 23 lives, has left the nation in mourning and raised serious questions about vehicle safety standards.
On Tuesday, what should have been an exciting educational journey for 39 pupils and six teachers from Uthai Thani province took a devastating turn. The group, comprising primary and secondary school students, was en route to Ayutthaya and Nonthaburi provinces when their bus became engulfed in flames on a highway north of the Thai capital.
The conflagration spread with alarming rapidity, leaving many passengers trapped inside the inferno. Trairong Phiwpan, who heads the police forensic department, confirmed that 23 bodies were recovered from the charred wreckage. The grim task of body retrieval was initially hampered as the bus, which ran on natural gas, remained too hot to approach for several hours after the incident.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, bereaved families made the sorrowful journey from Uthai Thani to Bangkok’s Police General Hospital. There, they provided DNA samples to assist in the identification of their loved ones. Kornchai Klaiklung, an assistant to the Royal Thai Police chief, assured the public that forensic teams were working tirelessly to complete the identification process as swiftly as possible.
The driver of the ill-fated bus, identified as 48-year-old Saman Chanput, turned himself in to authorities on Tuesday evening. He now faces a litany of charges, including reckless driving resulting in death and injury, failing to render assistance, and neglecting to report the accident.
According to Chayanont Meesati, the deputy regional police chief, Chanput’s account suggests that the disaster unfolded when the bus lost control due to an issue with its front left tyre. The vehicle subsequently collided with another car and scraped against a concrete highway barrier, generating sparks that ignited the blaze. Chanput claims he attempted to extinguish the fire with a borrowed fire extinguisher but fled in panic when his efforts proved futile.
The Bangkok Post reported that Chanput admitted to driving at speeds between 70 and 80 kilometres per hour. More alarmingly, it was revealed that the bus, first registered in 1970, had been converted from a diesel engine to run on natural gas. This modification is now under intense scrutiny as investigators await forensic results and a comprehensive report on the vehicle’s condition.
Songwit Chinnaboot, the owner of the bus company, defended his firm’s safety record in an interview with Thai PBS. He asserted that the bus underwent biannual safety inspections as mandated and that the gas cylinders had met required safety standards. Chinnaboot pledged to compensate the victims’ families to the best of his ability.
The tragedy has left three students hospitalised, with two in serious condition. One seven-year-old girl suffered severe facial burns, and medical teams are battling to save her eyesight.
