Wuttichai” proposes urgent resolution on solutions to prevent school bus fires. “Rachaneekorn” bursts into tears, asks adults how they can let society be like this, slams the incident as reflecting corruption everywhere, proposes to cancel public buses using gas tanks, and praises 3 teachers who sacrificed their bodies to shield the fire for students with tears.
Reporters reported that today’s (October 7) Senate meeting chaired by General Kriangkrai Srirak, First Vice President of the Senate, considered a motion requesting the Senate to consider finding a way to prevent, resolve, and provide assistance and compensation for the damage caused by the fire incident on a student tour bus, in order to submit it to the Cabinet for consideration and action, as proposed by Mr. Wuttichai Kalyanamitra.
Mr. Wuttichai said that the fire incident of the school bus of students from Wat Khao Phraya Sangkharam School, Lan Sak District, Uthai Thani Province, on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road inbound in front of the memorial in Path
um Thani Province on October 1st resulted in the students on the bus being unable to escape in time, resulting in 23 deaths, causing shock to the families of the deceased and society. It also raised questions about the cause of this accident, including the safety standards of the vehicle, the inspection and safety standards of the vehicle from relevant government agencies, as well as the knowledge and ability of the driver to prevent and suppress incidents, including preparation and rehearsal for passengers in case of an accident. In addition to considering the cause of the accident, it is important to consider providing assistance and compensation, especially to the relatives and families of the deceased from the incident, appropriately and fairly, even if it is not worth losing a loved one in the family.
Ms. Ratchaneekorn Thongthip, a member of the Senate, stood up to debate with a trembling voice that it was very difficult to talk about, but it had to be talked about to make improvements so that this kind
of incident would not happen again. On October 1st, which was the school break, innocent children were excited and happy to go on a trip with their teachers and some friends for the first time in their lives, but it turned out to be the last time. Adults should ask how we allowed this to happen in Thai society. Why don’t we create a safe society for children? They should be able to grow up, live, and do good things for the country, but they had to end their lives. This kind of tragedy would not have happened if adults had taken full responsibility for their duties and been honest.
Ms. Ratchanee discussed that even though the children died cruelly, field trips are still necessary activities for students because learning is not limited to the classroom but also outside the classroom. Field trips are still necessary but the age of the children going and the distance must be specified, and overnight stays must be taken into account. In addition, schools must increase their budget to be able to organize field tri
ps safely. Survival skills are very important for students. However, if we look back at safety standards, we have unsafe transportation. There are inspections of licenses related to transportation that are always questioned whether they are reliable or not. Today, are the safety equipment in school buses and public transportation vehicles such as glass-breaking hammers, emergency doors, fire extinguishers, and firefighting suits sufficient? And we know that there has never been an explanation of the procedures for using public transportation before traveling. In addition, gas is installed under the vehicle, which is not safe.
Therefore, it is proposed to cancel public transportation vehicles that have installed gas tanks because it affects the safety of the general public or to install a sticker indicating that the vehicle has installed a gas system to help users make a decision. In addition, there should be an automatic power cut-off system with chemicals installed in public transportation vehicles, includi
ng future trains and electric trains. Designing a certification standard for installing gas tanks, emergency doors, including training drivers who hold all types of driver’s licenses, type 2, to pass the accident response course and take responsibility for passengers and must be inspected every year, not just the first time and then disappear.
At the same time, Ms. Ratchanee said that Thailand has a problem of corruption that is widespread in every corner of the country. This incident clearly shows that this really exists in Thai society, to the point that there is a question that if public transport, including operators, see that their vehicles cannot pass inspections, they may spend a lot of money to take care of their responsibilities. Therefore, she would like this matter to be taken seriously before this terrible incident happens over and over again with no end in sight. She hopes that this incident will be a lesson and a warning to be prepared for prevention. She hopes that this will not only be done d
uring this period, but will be done seriously to have an impact on Thai society.
Ms. Ratchanikorn said with tears that lastly, she would like to pay tribute to the three teachers who died, Ms. Pimthong Sombat, Ms. Saranaya Homkasorn, and Ms. Kanokwan Sriporn. The last image that the rescuers saw was them hugging each other and the students in the middle. They did their duty as teachers until the last minute. I would like to pay my respects. Finally, I would like to present a poem that I wrote myself on October 1st. I have to admit that since then, I have not been able to sleep because I have a 6-year-old child. I understand the loss. I understand that children of that age cannot help themselves and cannot find a way to escape on their own. Thai society must come back and seriously fix this.
‘I would like to send the little child to heaven. I would like to say goodbye to my bright child. May you be happy wherever you go. May this long journey be peaceful and free from pain, my child. The classroom must be em
pty than ever. The house must be quieter than ever. Every morning and evening, the sound of crying is almost heartbreaking. Teachers hug each other to block the children like a human wall. The last thing we know is that teachers protect rights with their hearts. I would like to pay homage to their spirits. I would like to praise the teachers who sacrificed themselves to take care of their rights and did their duty honorably until their deaths. I would like to bow down to the teachers and pay homage to all the lives that have passed away. The deep crying sound that I hear still rings in my ears. May the students and teachers travel to a beautiful afterlife.’
Pol. Lt. Gen. Wanchai Ekpornpich, a member of the Senate, said that the problem was caused by the neglect of the law by both the public and government officials, both the Land Transport Traffic Act and vehicles that have been modified or overloaded, including strict inspections of failed vehicles, both in terms of age and installation of gas exceeding the
specified amount, without inspections, etc. Therefore, it was proposed that clear standards be set, including the maximum number, strong structures, inspections of emergency equipment readiness, and responsible officials, both at the executive and operational levels, must be punished for disciplinary actions based on negligence in operations. He also cited the example of the Sewon tragedy, which took South Korean students on a study trip and sank, causing the ship’s officers to hang themselves. The South Korean Prime Minister at the time announced his resignation to take responsibility, and the President was also removed from office. He therefore asked for the Minister of Transport and the Director-General of the Department of Land Transport to resign to set a standard for the Thai people.
While Mr. Sitthikorn Thongyos, a member of the Senate, called for the Department of Land Transport, Ministry of Transport, to take responsibility for the matter because it is the main responsible party, but neglected its d
uty to inspect the operating company and the buses that were old but were allowed to pass the inspection. Therefore, he asked for the registrar who was the perpetrator and signed the fake inspection form to be punished because it was corruption that caused the loss. It is not possible to arrest only the driver, but the entire process must be inspected. He also asked the Senate to consider setting up a committee to find the facts and punish the perpetrator who allowed the expired gas tank to pass the inspection.
Source: Thai News Agency