A bus with many young students from a primary school crashed and caught on fire near Bangkok. Sadly, more than 20 people might have died.
The bus was coming back from a school trip in the northern province called Uthai Thani when the sad event happened.
Out of the 41 people on the bus, 16 children and 3 teachers got out of the burning bus. But 22 children and 3 teachers are still missing, said Thailand’s Transport Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit.
Rescue teams are having trouble because the fire is very hot, making it hard to look at the burnt bus.
People who saw the accident and photos show the bus in big flames with lots of black smoke. Firefighters tried hard to put out the fire. Eight of the people who escaped went to the hospital, many with bad injuries.
Minister Juangroongruangkit said that using compressed natural gas made the fire worse. He said it is “very risky” for buses and wants to review the rules about using this fuel.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra felt very sorry for the families of the victims. She said, “The government will pay for hospital costs and give money to the families who lost loved ones.” She also told ministers to go to the accident site.
The accident might have happened because a tire exploded, causing the bus to crash into a barrier on the road.
Rescue workers said the fire started at the front of the bus, and many of those who couldn’t escape were at the back.
The bus driver ran away, but the authorities think they will catch him soon. The children on the bus were between 3 and 15 years old, but exact ages are not known yet.
Thailand has dangerous roads, with about 20,000 people dying in crashes every year.