Driver Escapes After Study Tour Bus Accident Kills 23 Teachers In Thailand Surrender

Illustration. Bus accident caught fire. (Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The driver who fled after the study tour bus he was driving caught fire in Bangkok, Thailand, killed 23 people and finally surrendered.

Quoting AP, Wednesday, October 2, the Thai Police stated that the bus driver named Saman Chanput, who brought six teachers and 39 elementary and junior high school students, surrendered on Tuesday, September 1 night after escaping after a bus caught fire.

The suspect was charged with reckless driving charges of causing death, did not help his passengers become victims of the accident, and did not immediately report the bus accident he was driving.

Deputy Regional Police Chief, Chayanont Meesati said the driver admitted to driving normally but in the middle of the trip lost balance on the left front tire and hit another car and swiped the concrete highway barrier. The incident caused sparks to catch fire.

The death toll in the fire that occurred on Tuesday, October 1, was previously reported to be 25 people. However, after the evacuation process, the Thai police said the number of bodies found from the bus carcasses was 23 people.

Previously, the evacuation process and identification of the dead victims were postponed for hours because the natural gas-fueled bus was still too hot to be burned immediately after being burned.

The body found on the bus was then taken to the forensic department at the Police General Hospital in Bangkok on Wednesday 2 October for DNA samples as part of the identification process.

The study tour bus departed from Uthai Thani Province in the middle to Ayutthaya and Nonthaburi Provinces. However, the bus caught fire on the highway north of the capital. The red rooster quickly engulfed the bus so many passengers did not have time to escape.

Currently the Thai police are investigating whether the bus company is complying with all safety standards.