Thai police arrest driver of school bus that caught fire killing 23 people

Police in Thailand have arrested the driver of a bus carrying young students and teachers that caught fire and killed 23 in suburban Bangkok, as families arrived in the capital to help identify their loved ones.

The bus, carrying six teachers and 39 students aged between six and 14, was travelling from Uthai Thani province, about 186 miles north of Bangkok, for a school trip in Ayutthaya and Nonthaburi provinces on Tuesday.

The fire started while the bus was on a highway north of the capital and spread so quickly many were unable to escape.

The driver, identified by police as Saman Chanput, surrendered on Tuesday evening, several hours after the fire.

Police said they have charged him with reckless driving causing deaths and injuries, failing to stop to help others and failing to report the accident.

Saman told investigators he was driving normally until the bus lost balance at its front right tyre, hit another car and scraped a concrete highway barrier.

This caused sparks that ignited the blaze, Chayanont Meesati, deputy regional police chief, told reporters.

The driver said he ran to grab a fire extinguisher from another bus that was travelling on the same trip but could not put out the fire, and ran away because he panicked, Chayanont said.

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Three students are hospitalised, with two in serious condition. A seven-year-old girl suffered burns on her face, and a surgeon said doctors were doing their best to try to save her eyesight.

Trairong Phiwpan, head of the police forensic department, said 23 bodies were recovered from the bus.

The recovery work and confirmation of the total dead had been delayed earlier because the charred bus, which was fuelled with natural gas, remained too hot to enter for hours.

Kornchai Klaiklung, assistant to the Royal Thai Police chief, told reporters the forensics team was working as fast as it could to identify the victims, with family members driven to the forensic department in Bangkok to provide DNA samples.

Police said they are also investigating whether the bus company followed all safety standards.

In an interview with public broadcaster Thai PBS, bus company owner Songwit Chinnaboot said the bus was inspected for safety twice a year as required and that the gas cylinders had passed safety standards. He also said he would compensate the victims’ families as best as he could.

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