Wednesday, October 02, 2024 - The fleeing driver of a bus that burst into flames in Thailand has handed himself over to police this morning, October 2.
20 schoolchildren and three teachers died in a fire on
Tuesday, October 1, after gas tanks ignited on a 50-year-old bus carrying them
into Bangkok.
Following the incident, all field trips across the country
were suspended, as authorities vowed to conduct a thorough probe into why the
single-decker bus, carrying 44 pupils and teachers, quickly caught fire after a
tyre burst on Tuesday, leaving passengers trapped inside.
Forensic authorities worked on Wednesday, October 2, to
identify the remains of the child victims of an accident which has
stunned Thailand anew.
Heartbreaking details have emerged about the tragedy, with
reports of primary school pupils being unable to escape from emergency doors
and cowering at the back of the bus, or in the arms of young teachers, as the
blaze consumed the vehicle.
One inconsolable pupil, whose younger brother died on the
bus, returned late on Tuesday night to his hometown of Uthai Thani, northern
Thailand, repeatedly crying "he didn’t come back with me" as his
mother hugged him.
The bus driver initially fled the scene but handed himself
in to authorities on Wednesday.
He was arrested and charged with negligence and reckless
driving, as ministers pledged to prevent similar accidents from happening
again.
Investigation teams along with officials from relevant
agencies were seen collecting evidence at the site of the devastating school
bus fire on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, people have been placing flowers, milk and snacks
as offerings at the accident site in memory of the 20 primary students and
three teachers killed in the tragedy.
Recall that at about 12.20pm on Tuesday, a bus carrying
students and teachers from Wat Khao Phraya Sangkaram School in Uthai Thai was
engulfed in fire after one of its front tyres blew out. The accident took place
on Vibhavadi Road in Pathum Thani.
At 9am on Wednesday, both the burned-down bus and a Mercedes
sedan that had been hit were removed from the site for further inspection.
Initial investigation shows that the bus was equipped with
several CNG gas tanks and had been illegally modified. The bus will also be
examined by officials from the Department of Energy, the Department of Land
Transport and several other agencies.
Meanwhile, an emergency operations centre has been set up at
the ill-fated school.
Uthai Thani governor Theerapat Khachamat said the initial
plan was to take parents of the victims to the province’s Muang district.
However, he said, the police coordinated with the evidence
collection team and DNA samples were being collected at the school. Once the
DNA collection is complete, the samples will be sent to the forensic unit at
the Police General Hospital in Bangkok.
Parents who are in or near Bangkok can go directly to the
third floor of the Forensic Medicine building at the hospital to deliver their
samples.
As of press time, it was still unclear when the bodies of
the deceased will be transferred to Uthai Thani, as it is still unknown how
long the autopsy will take due to the state of the bodies.
The injured, however, are being transported back to Uthai
Thani.
Sunthorn Piankasiwit, 50, the mother of a trainee teacher
and her young child believed to have died in the fire, tearfully said she never
imagined her daughter and grandchild would ever face such a tragedy. She said
that even though she is overcome with sorrow, she still hopes her daughter and
grandchild are not among the dead once the identities of the deceased are
established.
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