Bangkok. A school bus carrying students and teachers caught fire in suburban Bangkok on Tuesday, with 25 people feared dead, according to officials and rescue workers.

The bus, transporting 44 passengers from Uthai Thani province to Bangkok for a school trip, caught fire around noon in Pathum Thani, a suburb north of the capital, Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungruengkit reported.

Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the number of fatalities could not yet be confirmed, but based on the number of survivors, officials fear 25 may have died in the incident.

Videos shared on social media showed the bus engulfed in flames, with thick black smoke billowing from the parked vehicle.

A rescuer at the scene suggested the fire may have started when a tire exploded, causing the vehicle to scrape against a road barrier.

Hongsakul Khlong Luang 21, a local rescue group, posted on Facebook that at least 10 bodies had been found inside the bus. Further details about the students and the cause of the fire remain under investigation.

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