Multiple deaths in school bus fire in Thailand: PM

Bangkok: A devastating fire tore through a Thai bus carrying 44 students and teachers on a school trip Tuesday, officials said, with up to 25 feared d...

Bangkok: A devastating fire tore through a Thai bus carrying 44 students and teachers on a school trip Tuesday, officials said, with up to 25 feared dead.

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said there were fatalities and offered condolences to the victims' families.

Transport minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit said the number of fatalities was not clear but 25 people were unaccounted for after the blaze.

"Initial reports said there are 44 on board, 38 students and six teachers. As far as we know now, three teachers and 16 students got out," he told reporters. "For those still missing, we are not clear yet."

The bus was carrying students from Uthai Thani province when a tyre burst on a highway in a northern Bangkok suburb, sending the vehicle crashing into a barrier, a rescue worker said in footage broadcast on local TV.