Twenty-two school children were injured, mostly suffering bruises, in a road accident involving a school van in Non Thai district of Thailand’s north-eastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima on Thursday morning.
The driver of the van said that he was picking up kindergarten and primary students of the Sai Mit Non Thai School in Kampang sub-district.
As the van was approaching a bend in the road, he said that he suddenly lost control of the steering and the vehicle skidded off the road and tipped onto its side before mounting the verge. He claims that he was not speeding.
A school escort and the driver then helped pull the panicked and crying children out of the van and alerted the emergency services, who arrived at the scene shortly after and had all the children taken to the district hospital.
Police said they will question the driver and the teacher escort before pressing any charges.
On Saturday night, a passenger van heading toward Nakhon Pathom from Amnat Charoen district drove into a roadside ditch on the Friendship highway in Sikhio district of Nakhon Ratchasima and caught fire, burning to death 10 passengers and the driver. Only one passenger survived.