By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-10-08 10:33:25 | Updated at 2024-10-08 12:34:57
2 hours ago
Thousands gathered in central Thailand on Tuesday to mark the last rites for 20 schoolchildren and their three teachers killed in a bus inferno last week.
The students had been returning from a school trip when their coach burst a tyre, crashed into a highway barrier just north of the capital Bangkok and erupted into flames.
Devastated families gathered early on Tuesday at the school in Uthai Thani province where the victims studied and worked – and where families had expected the bus to return safely.
A marching band played solemnly in the rain as royal palace staff carried the coffins onto traditional funerary carriages.
Parents dressed in black escorted the caskets carrying their children, placing portraits and toys beside them.
“When I heard the news, I hoped it wasn’t my son,” said Wichan Suebsaichan, the father of nine-year-old Reutthawat.
