BANGKOK — Acting Police Chief Pol Gen Kittirat Panpetch said at a press conference Wednesday that investigators found no evidence that a bus tire exploded. Also, they discovered not 10 but 11 NGV tanks installed in the bus – 5 of them without a permit.
The bus carrying six teachers and 39 students in elementary and junior high school was traveling from Uthai Thani Province for a school trip in Ayutthaya and Nonthaburi provinces on October 1.
The fire started while the bus was on a highway in Pathum Thani, which is about 260 km away from the school. The fire spread so quickly many were unable to escape. There were 23 fatalities, including 10 students and 3 female teachers. Currently, 2 students and 1 student’s mother are receiving treatment in the hospital.
Pol Gen Kittirat Panpetch, Acting National Police Chief, summarized the progress of the investigation into the fire on the student field trip bus at noon on October 1. At 7:30 p.m., the driver, Saman Chanput, 38 years old, turned himself in to the police at Wiset Chaichan Police Station in Ang Thong Province. He was then taken for questioning at Khlong Luang Police Station in Pathum Thani Province.
He told investigators he was driving normally until the bus lost balance at its front right tire, hit another car and scraped a concrete highway barrier, causing sparks that ignited the blaze. The driver said he ran to grab a fire extinguisher from another bus that was traveling on the same trip but could not put out the fire, and ran away because he panicked.
The police have charged him with “reckless or careless driving that may endanger people or property, causing death, causing physical or mental harm to others, and driving in a way that causes damage to others, then failing to stop the vehicle to provide assistance, not identifying himself, and not reporting the incident to authorities, resulting in the death of others.” Initially, the suspect confessed to the charges.
Meanwhile, officials from the Forensic Science Department and the Department of Land Transport have completed inspecting the vehicle. They found that the bus involved in the incident had 11 fuel tanks, but only 6 were properly registered. The remaining tanks were not listed in the registration with the authorities. Other details will need to be thoroughly examined through forensic science for clarity.
Pol Gen Kittirat said that the preliminary assumption is that the cause was faulty equipment that created sparks, leading to the fire. However, more evidence needs to be collected from the scene, such as tire marks, GPS data, vehicle speed, and various other pieces of evidence to complete the case file.
“If any individuals or companies are found to be involved or complicit in the wrongdoing, the Royal Thai Police will prosecute to the fullest extent,” he said.
Mr. Eksom Akaraphan, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Land Transport, who joined the press conference, revealed that the vehicle in question was first registered with the department in 1970 and re-registered on October 15, 2018. The process followed the Land Transport Department’s procedures and was certified by an engineer.
Upon inspection, the emergency door was found to be operational, but this doesn’t necessarily mean it was functional at the time of the incident, as the inspection was conducted after the accident. However, no glass-breaking hammer, which is a safety equipment that should be present in the vehicle, was found.
Regarding the 5 out of 11 fuel tanks without permits, Eksom said that the matter is still under investigation. Currently, the transport operator’s license has been suspended, the driver’s license has been suspended, and the company’s safety management personnel registration has been revoked.
On the same day, the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Police General Hospital, in collaboration with the Police Forensic Science Office, completed the identification of all 23 victims. Subsequently, highway police and tourist police led and facilitated the convoy throughout the route to return the bodies to their hometown in Uthai Thani.
Officials stopped to allow families and relatives of the deceased to perform a ceremony to invite the spirits according to their beliefs at the accident site. Monks chanted, and there were heart-wrenching cries of sorrow.
When the vehicles arrived in Uthai Thani, the governor was waiting to receive and hand over the bodies of the deceased to their families for funeral rites. His Majesty the King and the Queen have taken the deceased under their royal patronage, providing funeral wreaths to be placed in front of the coffins of those who passed away. They have granted special permission for royal cremation ceremonies for the deceased.
Their Majesties graciously also assigned royal representatives to present flowers and gift baskets to two female students who suffered burns and are receiving treatment at Thammasat University Hospital in Khlong Luang district, Pathum Thani province, and to the injured parent of a student at the Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health in Bangkok.
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