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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 Tueaday, 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.