More than 20 children feared dead in Thailand bus crash

The bus, carrying dozens of primary school age children, was returning from a trip north of Bangkok. (Reuters)

Bangkok, October 1 — A bus carrying dozens of primary school children has crashed and caught fire just outside the Thai capital Bangkok.

Sixteen children and three teachers are reported to have escaped, but 22 pupils and three teachers are still unaccounted for, according to the country's transport minister.

Officials say they have found ten bodies on the bus, according to the BBC Thai service.

Photographs show the bus completely destroyed by the fire. Investigators are said to have been unable to enter the vehicle because of the heat, according to local media.

The bus was one of three that were carrying children and teachers returning from a school field trip in the northern province of Uthai Thani.

Transport Minister Suriyahe Juangroongruangkit said the bus was powered by compressed natural gas.

“This is a very tragic incident,” Mr Suriyahe told reporters at the scene.

“The ministry must find a measure… if possible, for passenger vehicles like this to be banned from using this type of fuel because it’s extremely risky,” he added.

Thailand's prime minister, meanwhile, has ordered ministers to visit the scene.

"As a mother, I would like to express my deepest regrets to the families of those killed," Paetongtarn Shinawatra said.

"The government will be responsible for all the medical costs and the compensation for those killed," she added.

The bus was travelling on a highway into Bangkok when a tyre burst, sending it crashing into a barrier, a rescue worker said in footage broadcast on local television.

Video footage from the scene showed flames engulfing the bus as it burned under an overpass, huge clouds of dense black smoke billowing into the sky.

It is not clear what age the children onboard were, but the school has pupils between three and 15 years old.

Thailand has one of the worst road safety records in the world, with unsafe vehicles and poor driving contributing to the high annual death toll.