Burnt shell: Rescuers inspecting the bus that caught fire while carrying young students with their teachers in Bangkok. — AP
THE country’s Department of Land Transport (DLT) filed a police complaint after learning that the operator of the tour bus that caught fire and killed 23 people intended to evade inspection of gas canisters, which are believed to be the cause of the accident.
The gas-powered tour bus registered to Panisara Shinabutr caught fire while transporting students in Pathum Thani province earlier this week, killing 20 students and three teachers.
DLT director-general Jirut Wisaljit said the department has suspended the public transport licence of the operator, and ordered Shinabutr Engineering (Thailand) Ltd, of which Panisara served as a director, to send all five of its buses for inspection at the DLT office in Lopburi province.
However, the company failed to deliver the buses on schedule, said Jirut, adding that GPS data revealed that the five buses were sent to an auto shop in Nakhon Ratchasima province instead.
Jirut said DLT’s investigators visited the shop and found that the gas canisters on the buses were removed in what it believed to be an attempt to conceal unauthorised and illegal modifications to the vehicles.
The department then filed a police complaint, urging the Royal Thai Police to investigate the company’s action so it could file appropriate charges, Jirut said.
On Wednesday, the Transport Ministry gave the DLT two months to inspect all passenger buses equipped with compressed natural gas (CNG) cylinders to ensure that they pass fire safety standards.
There are 13,426 passenger buses in Thailand registered as using CNG as fuel, the same as the ill-fated bus. Of these, 10,491 serve regular routes while 2,935 are available for charter. — The Nation/ANN
