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The crashed vehicle, a double-decker bus that appears engulfed in flames in the images released by emergency services, was carrying 38 schoolchildren and six teachers.
A school bus carrying 44 passengers , most of them children , caught fire while transporting a group on a field trip outside Bangkok and authorities fear up to 25 deaths after 19 survivors were reported.
The crashed vehicle, a double-decker bus seen engulfed in flames in images released by emergency services, was carrying 38 schoolchildren and six teachers from Wat Khao Phraya school (in Uthai Thani province) on a trip north of Bangkok, more than 200 kilometres away.
According to official documents, the school welcomes students from kindergarten to 15 years old, although the ages and identities of the passengers have not yet been revealed.
Survivors
At least 19 of the 44 passengers survived, some of whom were injured and taken to local hospitals, according to public broadcaster Thai PBS.
Among the survivors are 16 schoolchildren and three teachers.
Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said during a visit to the scene that the death toll could be as high as 25, after volunteer teams said they had found 10 bodies inside the vehicle and 15 passengers whose condition was unknown.
The bus caught fire with passengers inside shortly after midday on the Vibhavadi Rangsit Expressway, which runs through Bangkok, Thai PBS reported.
According to preliminary investigations, the bus driver may have lost control of the vehicle due to a flat tire, which is believed to have caused a side collision that preceded the fire, Kittirat Panphet, acting head of the National Police, told the public channel.
Condolences
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra sent a message on Facebook to express her condolences to the families of the victims and said the government would cover the medical expenses of the survivors.
“As a mother, I extend my sincere condolences to the families,” said the 38-year-old leader, a mother of two young children, before visiting a Bangkok hospital where some of the injured are being treated.
Thailand has one of the highest road mortality rates in the world, with around 20,000 deaths and around one million injuries a year from traffic accidents, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
