Northern Thailand
3 Passengers and 2 Children Burned Alive in Double-Decker Bus Fire
Five bus passengers, including 2 children have been killed and 12 others seriously injured after a double-decker went up in flames in northeastern Thailand. The incident happened in Ban Haet district in the early hours on Tuesday, Khon Kaen police said.
The incident occurred at about 12.30am on the Mitrapap highway at Nong Kham village in tambon Non Sombun of Khon Kaen province.
Khon Kaen police source told CTN News that the double-decker bus departed Bung Kan province early on Monday night and stopped over in Udon Thani before heading for Bangkok with 33 passengers on board.
The bus stopped over in Khon Kaen and the proceeded for Bangkok shortly after midnight. While running past Nong Kham village, a rear brake caught fire causing a tire to burst. The fire spread to the engine compartment and the entire bus became engulfed in flames.
A volunteer rescue team and a fire engine arrived shortly the fire started and managed to put out the flames an hour later. The double-decker bus was completely gutted by fire and water damage.
Five passengers, two of them children, were burned to death in the bus and 12 others suffered serious injures. The police source said 16 other passengers were able to escape the burning bus and survived.
The driver was also injured in the fire. The injured were admitted to Sirindhorn and Khon Kaen hospitals for treatment.
An investigation was underway by Khon Kaen police and the department of transport.
