A heart-wrenching tragedy unfolded in Thailand on Tuesday, as a school bus carrying young children erupted into flames, leaving over 20 feared dead. The bus, carrying 38 children ranging from kindergarten to teenage years and six teachers, was on a school trip to a science museum in northern Bangkok. The horrific accident occurred on a highway in a northern Bangkok suburb when one of the bus tires blew out, sending the vehicle crashing into a barrier and igniting the inferno.
Witnesses described the scene as terrifying, with huge clouds of thick black smoke billowing into the sky as flames consumed the bus. The blaze was so intense that the victims’ bodies were severely burned, making it impossible for officials to determine a precise death toll immediately. Identifying the remains could take days.
Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul reported that 21 people managed to escape the burning bus, but 23 remained unaccounted for and are presumed dead. The rescue workers, shielded by screens erected around the wreckage, are working tirelessly to recover the bodies. “Some of the bodies we rescued were very, very small. They must have been very young in age,” Piyalak Thinkaew, the leader of the search team, told reporters at the scene. He added that the fire started at the front of the bus, prompting the children to instinctively flee towards the back, where their bodies were later found.
Doctors treating the survivors reported that some children suffered horrific burns on their faces, mouths, and eyes. The bus was part of a group of three carrying students from Wat Khao Phraya Sangkharam school in the northern province of Uthai Thani. Just hours before the tragedy, the school posted a video on their Facebook page, showing the children, clad in orange uniform shirts, stopping off at the ancient Thai capital of Ayyuthaya.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra expressed her deepest condolences to the families of the victims and pledged government support for the survivors’ medical treatment and compensation. “As a mother, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the families of the injured and deceased,” she wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
This heartbreaking accident sheds light on Thailand’s dire road safety record. The country has consistently been ranked among the most dangerous in the world, with unsafe vehicles and poor driving practices contributing significantly to the high annual death toll. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that around 20,000 people are killed every year on Thailand’s roads, averaging more than 50 deaths per day. The economic impact of these tragedies is equally alarming, with traffic deaths and injuries amounting to $15.5 billion in 2022 – more than three percent of the country’s GDP.
This tragedy serves as a stark reminder of the importance of prioritizing road safety and implementing comprehensive measures to prevent such catastrophic incidents from occurring in the future. The nation mourns the loss of innocent young lives and stands in solidarity with the grieving families.
