The operator of a Thai bus that caught fire and killed 23 people is charged as investigators suspect a gas leak

BANGKOK – Thai police said on Friday they had filed criminal charges against a bus operator in connection with a bus fire that killed 23 young students and teachers on a school trip earlier this week, as investigations suggested a gas leak caused the blaze could have.

The owner of the bus, identified by police only by her first name, Panissara, was charged with negligence causing death, according to a statement from Pathum Thani Provincial Police.

Public outrage over the tragedy has led to officials coming under scrutiny over safety standards after it was revealed the bus had been inspected about four months before the fire.

Six teachers and 39 elementary and middle school students were on the bus when it caught fire on a highway in Pathum Thani, a northern suburb of Bangkok, on Tuesday. It spread so quickly that only 22 people were able to escape.

Funeral services for the dead began on Thursday in their hometown of Lan Sak in the central province of Uthai Thani and were attended by senior government officials and grieving relatives. A cremation sponsored by the king will take place next week.

Families of the victims called for vehicle security to be tightened. Poor enforcement of vehicle and road safety standards leads to thousands of deaths each year in Thailand, which has one of the highest rates of road fatalities in the world.

Investigations into the fire suggest there may have been a gas leak in the bus, which was equipped with 11 natural gas canisters despite only having permits for six, Trairong Phiwpan, head of the police’s forensic department, said on Thursday. He said a gas hose came loose, but it was not clear whether that happened before or after the accident.

He said investigators are still investigating what caused the sparks that ignited the fire.

Many Thai vehicles run on compressed natural gas to save costs. Officials said the bus, which is over 50 years old, has been converted to run on CNG.

Police said the driver, who was charged with reckless driving and failing to stop to help others, claimed a front tire failed, causing the bus to crash into a car and then slide over a concrete guardrail on the highway.

The Ministry of Land Transport presented details of its inspection of the bus at a meeting of Parliament’s transport committee on Thursday.

The detached fuel hose on the bus came from one of the five unregistered canisters, said Cheep Nomsian, director of the Automotive Engineering Bureau.

He said the emergency exit appeared to be functional and there were no signs of tire damage, which was initially thought to have contributed to the fire. However, he said that the front axle of the bus was broken.

The Ministry of Land Transport has also filed further complaints against the bus company, whose operating license was already suspended.

The department’s director general, Chirute Visalachitra, said at a press conference on Thursday that bus company Chinnaboot Tour had not responded to an urgent call to inspect its remaining buses. After using a GPS tracker, the department found the buses at a repair shop in northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima province, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from Lopburi province, where the company had been ordered to send the buses, he said.

Chirute said the authority ordered the confiscation of the buses after discovering that the gas canisters had already been removed from them.

“Such an act is a criminal offense, a serious violation of the law,” he said.