Thailand mourns as school bus fire victims bid final farewell
The royal-sponsored ceremony at Uthai Thani school was presided over by Privy Council president and several other ministers, including former prime minister Srettha Thavisin
Cabinet members, provincial officials and the general public attended the final rites of the 23 individuals who were charred to death in a bus fire tragedy just outside Bangkok on October 1.
In a ceremony sponsored by Their Majesties the King and Queen, the bodies of the 20 primary school students and three teachers, were cremated in pyres set up on the school grounds.
The Uthai Thani-based Wat Khao Phraya Sangkaram School had chartered three tour buses to take young primary students and teachers on a field trip to Ayutthaya and Nonthaburi. However, one of the buses, which was fitted with more gas tanks than officially allowed, caught fire and killed 23 of the 44 people on board.
Presiding over the religious ceremony was Privy Council President General Surayud Chulanont. Also attending were Deputy PM and Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, Deputy PM and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Education Minister Pol General Permpoon Chidchob, former prime minister Srettha Thavisin, and acting National Police chief Pol General Kitrat Phanphet.
Uthai Thani governor Teerapat Kutchamath said four tents had been set up on the school grounds to accommodate attendees, including the victims’ parents and families, officials and school staff.
He said the bodies would be cremated in four shifts, with the first three shifts devoted to the young students and the last saved for the deceased teachers. Each cremation is expected to take about an hour.
The governor said he has also dispatched 200 medical staffers to provide first aid to attendees suffering from dehydration or heat exhaustion.
