Mourners wept and monks prayed at a cremation ceremony on Tuesday in a small town in central Thailand to honor the 23 young students and teachers who tragically lost their lives in a bus fire during a school field trip.
The ceremony took place in Lan Sak town, where a large cremation site was set up near the temple that the victims attended. Several furnaces with tall chimneys were erected, adorned with floral tributes.
The bus fire occurred on October 1 in Pathum Thani, a northern suburb of Bangkok, claiming the lives of six teachers and 39 elementary and junior high school students. Only 22 individuals managed to escape the rapidly spreading flames.
Following forensic work in Bangkok to identify the badly burnt bodies, the victims' remains were returned to their hometown for funeral rites that commenced last week.
This tragic incident has sparked national outrage over safety procedures, leading authorities to take swift legal action. The bus driver was arrested for alleged reckless driving, and the bus owner was charged with negligence causing death.
Transport officials are under scrutiny after it was revealed that the bus had passed an inspection four months prior to the fire. Investigations found that the bus, over 50 years old, was modified to run on compressed natural gas (CNG) with 11 canisters, exceeding its permit for six.
Authorities have ordered inspections of over 13,000 CNG buses within 60 days. The Education Ministry has also suspended school study trips temporarily.
The cremation ceremony in Uthai Thani province was sponsored by King Maha Vajiralongkorn, with his Privy Council head representing him at the event.
