TRAT - A fire broke out in the rear compartment of a bus carrying students home from a field trip shortly before they arrived back at their school in Bo Rai district.
Sawang Boonchuayluea Thammasathan Trat, a rescue volunteer unit, said the double-decker was carrying 35 students and seven teachers back to Chumchon Wat Bor Ploy Ratrangsant School on Monday.
The fire occurred when the bus was less than 10 kilometres from the school.
The driver, Methee Phosi, quickly stopped the bus and opened all the doors, including emergency exits, allowing them to rapidly exit the vehicle, the rescue team said. All on board were safe and well.
The driver said students had complained about the stuffy air before smoke, followed by flames, was noticed at the rear of the bus. He suspected a short-circuit in the air-conditioning system had caused the fire.
The bus was one of two that took Prathom 6 students from the school on a field trip to Thammachat bay in Laem Ngob district.
The Education Ministry demanded maximum transport safety after a bus carrying students from a school in Uthai Thai on a field trip was engulfed in flames in October last year, killing 23 people, 20 of them pupils. Long-distance trips for elementary school students are also discouraged.
Students and teachers of Chumchon Wat Bor Ploy Ratrangsant School on the roadside after the fire at the rear of their bus. (Photo: Jakkrit Waewkraihong)