PUBLISHED : 26 Oct 2024 at 04:00
The families of the victims of the Oct 1 bus fire tragedy on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road filed petitions with the police yesterday, accusing four agencies of negligence that led to the disaster.
Senator Alongkot Worakee, chairman of the ad hoc committee reviewing the draft budget bill for fiscal year 2025, brought 23 families from Uthai Thani affected by the incident to the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) to submit the petitions.
On Oct 1, six teachers and 39 students were on a bus that caught fire while travelling along Vibhavadi Rangsit Road in Lam Luk Ka district, Pathum Thani, during a school trip involving three buses. The fire killed 20 students and three teachers and seriously injured three others.
Sen Alongkot said that the petition was filed against the Sing Buri Provincial Land Transportation Office, Sing Buri Provincial Energy Office, Sing Buri Provincial Industrial Office, and engineers or technicians responsible for inspecting the bus’s gas tanks, accusing them of neglecting their duties under Section 157 of the Criminal Code.
The families intend to pursue both criminal and civil action against these government agencies, he said, adding that the agencies had not reached out to the families of the deceased or injured to offer assistance.
Sen Alongkot added that each family of the victims had initially received around 3 million baht in compensation from the Office of the Insurance Commission, the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, and the provincial office of the Justice Ministry. For the injured students, each received about 1-2 million baht in compensation.
Meanwhile, Mahaphokai Khamkrasae, the father of one of the victims, expressed gratitude to the government for the financial support his family received. However, he remains deeply saddened by the tragedy, as do the other parents, and urged all relevant agencies to give justice to the victims. “As ordinary citizens, we lack the authority to seek justice for our lost loved ones,” he said.
Additionally, Surachai Liengboonlertchai, adviser to the House’s Road Safety Prevention and Mitigation Study Committee, called for the expedited inspection of 11,453 CNG-powered buses that have yet to undergo engine checks. The Department of Land Transportation (DLT) had inspected only 1,973 CNG-fuelled buses between Oct 4-20, with 196 found below standard and temporarily banned from the roads.
“Considering that Thailand has over 13,400 CNG-powered buses, the DLT’s progress is quite slow,” he said, given the Transport Ministry’s Nov 30 deadline to complete all the bus engine checks.