Rescuers work at the scene of a fire on a bus carrying young students and teachers on the outskirts of Bangkok on Tuesday.

Sakchai Lalit/AP

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Sakchai Lalit/AP

BANGKOK – A bus carrying young students and their teachers on a school trip caught fire in a suburb of Bangkok on Tuesday, killing more than 20 people, officials and rescuers said.

The bus with 45 passengers – six teachers and 39 primary and middle school students – was traveling from the central province of Uthai Thani when it caught fire in Pathum Thani province, a northern suburb of the Thai capital, said acting police commissioner Kitrat Phanphet.

The fire was first reported around noon and was extinguished less than an hour later, but rescuers said they were unable to get on board for hours because the heat inside the natural gas vehicle could have caused more explosions.

Kitrat said police were still working to identify the victims, but three teachers and 20 students had not been located.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known. Kitrat said initial investigation showed that a tire had exploded, causing sparks that caused a fire that spread throughout the bus. He did not specify.

He added that no other vehicles were involved in the incident.

There are discrepancies in reports regarding the number of people on the bus. Rescuers quote surviving teachers who said there were three buses from the school for the trip and that along the way, some students transferred to buses other than the ones they initially took.

Videos posted on social media show the entire bus burst into flames, with black smoke billowing from the bus on the side of the road.

Piyalak Thinkaew, a rescue worker with the Ruama Katanyu Foundation, told reporters that most of the bodies were found in the middle and rear seats, leading to the assumption that the victims had fallen back and the fire started at the front of the bus.

Police were searching for the driver, who appeared to have fled the scene, Kitrat said, adding that the bus operator and related people could face charges if found responsible.

“Great sadness and regret”

“An event like this causes great sadness and sadness,” he told reporters at a news conference.

“There is no way we would distort the facts or help anyone” avoid justice, Kitrat said, adding that 16 students were treated for minor injuries and sent home, while three others were hospitalized.

The nearby patRangsit hospital says three girls were initially treated there, including one with burns to her face, mouth and eyes. Surgeon Anocha Takham said doctors would do everything in their power to save the approximately 7-year-old girl from losing her sight.

The girls were later transferred to other hospitals for further treatment.

Kitrat said the surviving teacher told police that the fire spread so quickly that she didn’t even have time to reach for her cell phone. Some passengers managed to escape through the doors, others jumped out of the windows.

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra expressed condolences in a post on social media platform X, promising that the government would cover medical costs and help the victims’ families. Later she visited the injured in hospital.

When reporters asked her about the fire at the government headquarters, Paetongtarn became overcome with emotion and burst into tears. She became prime minister in August and is the mother of two children.

The crash sparked criticism about the safety of children traveling for long hours in the provinces on roads known for high rates of road accidents and fatalities.

The World Health Organization estimates that 20,000 people die and one million are injured in road accidents every year in Thailand.