Preparations under way at school’s football field for mass funeral of bus fire victims

Uthai Thani member of Parliament Chada Thaiseth on Saturday visited the muddy football field at Wat Khao Phraya Sangkaram School in the Lan Sak district of the province following heavy rains to oversee preparations for the royal cremation ceremony of the victims of the tragic bus fire.

He was accompanied by Jeset Thaiseth, his nephew and deputy secretary-general of the Bhumjaithai Party.

The royal cremation ceremony is scheduled for 11am on October 8 in the school’s multipurpose building, where the bodies of all 23 victims will be placed. 

The bus fire tragedy occurred on Tuesday (October 1) in Pathum Thani province while the students were on a field trip. A fire broke out on their bus, leading to the deaths of 20 students and three teachers. Three other students were injured. 

Currently, efforts are underway to lay crushed stone and pallets over the field, which had become muddy due to heavy rain. A dome tent will also be set up to protect against rain during the ceremony.

Chada noted that the daily heavy rains were a challenge, as they have severely affected the football field. Urgent efforts are underway to prepare the area, which spans approximately 7 rai (about 11,200 square metres). The site where the crematorium will be set up is also being prepared, located on the western side of the field in front of the school.

The cremation furnaces have already arrived at the site and are expected to be installed by Sunday. The total cremation process is expected to take 3-4 hours.

A total of 5,000 chairs are being arranged to accommodate attendees. General attendees will be seated outside.

For the cremation, five electric furnaces will be used, similar to the ones used for cremation after mass casualty events like the tsunami. 

Two additional oil-powered furnaces, which are started with electricity, will also be used, bringing the total number of cremation furnaces to seven. 

Floral trays will be provided for participants to offer traditional sandalwood flowers to the victims.

The ceremony will begin at 8am. Medical teams will be on standby to provide assistance in case of any sudden health issues and there will be a police presence at the event.