Horror school bus fire kills up to 25 pupils in Thailand

A horror school bus fire killed up to 25 pupils while they were on a day trip in Thailand today.

The youngsters from the Wat Khao Phraya Sangkharam School in Uthai Thani were on an educational visit to an electricity plant when a wheel exploded in Pathum Thani province on the outskirts of Bangkok at around 12:38 pm local time.

A fire is said to have started in the undercarriage as the vehicle hit the concrete road barriers. Dramatic footage shows the blaze engulfing the entire vehicle before firefighters arrived to put out the inferno along the Vibhavadi Rangsit Road.

Officials said up to 25 children were killed when they were burned alive. They said they were in Grade 3, making them around eight or nine years old.

Sixteen pupils and three teachers, along with the driver, reportedly escaped.

Police closed off the road as firefighters scrambled to extinguish the flames that had engulfed the vehicle.

Pictures from the scene showed their charred corpses in the burned-out vehicle. Firemen took some of the children who were able to escape the blaze into a nearby building, where they were seen being counted.

Politicians visited the scene of the wreckage to express their condolences.

Speaking on the roadside, one teacher said: ‘We are from Wat Khao Phraya Sangkharam School in Uthai Thani with three buses. ‘The incident occurred on the second bus.'

A driver of one of the school vehicles in the convoy told local media that he saw the front wheel of the bus explode before flames appeared.

A witness said they heard an explosion before seeing the bus travelling at high speed, followed by an accident with a burst of flames and smoke.

Another witness said that officers were hesitant to approach the scene while the bus was burning, prompting students to huddle together inside the vehicle.

Songwit, the owner of Chinnaboot Tour company that operates the buses, said: '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.'

An onlooker recalled hearing an explosion and seeing the bus speeding across the road in a blur of orange flames and smoke. Another witness claimed firefighters were initially hesitant to approach the burning bus, causing the schoolchildren to huddle together.

Lieutenant Colonel Thanu Wongchinda, Secretary-General of the Office of the Basic Education Commission, said: 'From the initial report, the students were from Wat Khao Phraya School in Uthai Thani Province. The children were on an educational trip to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand. There were elementary school students and possibly kindergarten students as well. The details must be checked again. It was found that they left Uthai Thani Province this morning.

'The field trip is the responsibility of the school director, but if it is an overnight trip, the parents must approve it. Currently, the Office of the Basic Education Commission has issued measures to postpone study trips, both in terms of vehicles and travel. We requested an investigation into the details of this accident in order to take corrective measures.'

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.