Thai schools cancel field trips amid fears over death trap buses in wake of fire tragedy

Thai schools cancelled their field trips in the wake of a tragic bus fire that killed at least 20 pupils and three teachers.

Jamroon Wannapas, 53, owner of the tour bus company Ae Transport in Khon Kaen, Thailand, said more than 80 per cent of his customers had cancelled their reservations following the death trap bus inferno in Pathum Thani province on October 1.

Jamroon said he has been renting out buses for 30 years, typically to government workers and schools. However, this week's tragedy sparked fears of more bus accidents happening.

Some ministers have also called for school trips across the country to be suspended while buses are checked.

He said: 'All reservations from the schools were 100 per cent cancelled. I understand and would like to express my condolences to those who lost their lives.

'As for what we can do, we will provide training on the use of various rescue equipment in the bus in case of unexpected incidents, such as a hammers to break windows or how to open the emergency door from inside the bus. The drivers themselves must thoroughly inspect the condition of the vehicle before every trip.'

The heavily modified 54-year-old coach run by Chinnaboot Tour Company burst into flames in Pathum Thani shortly after 12:30 pm local time on October 1.

It was said to have lost control when a front tyre blew out. A fire reportedly started in the undercarriage as the vehicle hit the concrete road barriers.

Officials said the youngsters from the Wat Khao Phraya Sangkharam School in Uthai Thani were on an educational visit to an electricity plant when the incident happened. They were aged between seven and 15 years old.

The bus driver, Saman Chankut, 48, allegedly fled after briefly trying to battle the inferno at the scene. He was caught hiding in his wife's house in Ang Thong province on October 1 evening.

He claimed he had tried to find a fire extinguisher to put out the blaze, but ran away when he saw it grow uncontrollably. He said he panicked and fled to a relative's house to escape authorities.

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said: 'As a mother, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the families.'

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.