A bus carrying young students with their teachers has caught fire in suburban Bangkok, with 25 of those on board feared dead, Thai officials and rescuers said.
The bus was carrying 44 passengers from central Uthai Thani province for a school trip in Ayutthaya and Nonthaburi provinces, Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungruengkit told reporters at the scene.
Videos posted on social media showed the entire bus engulfed in fire with huge plumes of black smoke pouring out as it stood on the side of the road.
READ MORE: Aussie home buyer loses $813k in horror email scam
Bodies were still inside the bus hours after the fire.
The students on the bus were reported to be in primary and junior high school.
Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said officials could not yet confirm the number of fatalities because they had not finished investigating the scene, but based on the number of survivors, he said 25 people are feared dead.
READ MORE: Well-known television anchor killed in Israeli strike on Syria
He said the driver survived but appeared to have fled and could not yet be found.
Thai media reports and rescuers said it was heading to Nonthaburi when the fire started around noon in Pathum Thani province, a northern suburb of the capital.
A rescuer at the scene told Suriya that the fire likely started after one of the tires exploded and the vehicle scraped against a road barrier.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra offered her condolences in a post on social media platform X, saying the government would take care of medical expenses and compensate the victims’ families.
Rescue group Hongsakul Khlong Luang 21 posted on its Facebook page that they found at least 10 bodies on the bus.
The group said at least 19 people survived the fire.
FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, celebrity and sport via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.
links to content on ABC
9News
