The Office of Police Forensic Science has determined that the inferno bus fire that killed 20 children and three teachers on Tuesday resulted from a gas cylinder leak from one of 5 illegally installed cylinders on the bus.
Yesterday, Pol Lt Gen Trairong Phiewphan, the commander of the Office of Police Forensic Science (OPFS), announced that an examination of the bus wreckage revealed that the gas leak and subsequent fire were caused by an unregistered CNG tank that regulators had not inspected.
An inspection of the wreckage revealed that 11 tanks containing compressed natural gas (CNG) had been installed on the bus. Six tanks were registered, while the remaining 5 tanks were not.
The inspection also revealed that the gas leak originated from one of the unregistered tanks. However, it has not yet been determined what caused the sparks that ignited the compressed CNG gas or why it leaked.
He added that the bus’s front-wheel shaft was broken, but there were no signs of scraping against the road surface.
Meanwhile, the Department of Land and Transport has suspended the bus owner’s license after he was caught trying to hide unregistered gas cylinders installed on 5 other buses in the same fleet. The company failed to send the buses for inspection on Thursday.
Department of Land and Transport officials tracked down the buses via GPS and found them at a garage in Nakhon Ratchasima, where they were removing illegally installed CNG gas cylinders, Mr. Jirut Wisanjit, the department’s director-general, reported.
He said this indicates the bus owners’ intention to conceal the wrongdoing of the illegal modification of the vehicles.
The five buses were part of a six-bus fleet, which included the bus that caught fire and killed 20 students and three teachers from Uthai Thani during a field trip on Tuesday.
According to Mr. Jirut, the bus involved in Tuesday’s tragedy had been in service for more than 50 years, had been modified multiple times, and had been refitted to use CNG gas, but the installation was not up to standard or certified.
He said the bus driver, Mr. Samarn Chanphut, 48, who surrendered to police on Tuesday night, had also had his license suspended. He faces four criminal charges and will lose his license if found responsible.
