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At least 20 people have died after a double-decker bus erupted in flames in Thailand.

The bus, which was carrying migrant workers from Myanmar, was heading to a factory in an industrial zone near Bangkok when the fire broke out.

The blaze was reported to police around 1.30am on Friday (7.30pm GMT Thursday) in Tak province in western Thailand.

Police Lieutenant Raewat Aiemtak said 27 people managed to escape the fire, with one of them severely burned. But those at the back of the bus were trapped and could not get off.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but Mr Raewat said the driver reported the fire started in the middle of the bus and spread quickly.

The tragedy comes a week after another fatal accident showed the continuing dangers of Thailand's roads.

On March 21, a chartered tour bus lost control on a downhill curve in Thailand's northeast and slid off the road, killing 18 people and injuring 33.

A day later, a bus on a school trip in the central province of Ayutthaya skidded in the rain and flipped, injuring 39 people.

Thailand has the second-highest rate of traffic fatalities in the world after Libya, according to World Health Organisation statistics.</s>BANGKOK - A fire on board a bus in western Thailand killed 20 migrant workers from Myanmar early on Friday, police said.

The bus was carrying 47 workers who had just crossed the border into Thailand to work legally. Three other people on the bus were injured but the rest escaped unharmed, police said.

"The driver said he saw fire breaking out from the middle of the bus, which then spread quickly," Kritkanok Dan-udom, the chief of Maetor district police station, told Reuters.

Pictures in Thai media showed the burnt-out shell of the bus.

Thailand is estimated to have more than 3 million migrant workers, many of whom come from much poorer neighbour Myanmar. Work permit rules were tightened last year.</s>Twenty Myanmar migrant workers died early Friday as fire tore through a bus taking them from a Thai border town to Bangkok, officials said.

It was not immediately clear how the blaze started on the bus -- one of four travelling together to the Thai capital.

But television footage showed a bus destroyed by fire which trapped many passengers inside.

“The death toll is now 20, with three people injured,” Pollawat Sapsongsuk of the Tak Disaster Prevention and Mitigation centre told AFP.

Kittisak Boonchan, a rescue worker in Tak province, told reporters there were 47 people on the bus.

The accident took place at 1:25am in the northwestern province of Tak which borders Myanmar, a source of much of Thailand’s huge migrant labour force.

Low status and poorly paid, migrant workers often fall victim to safety lapses and exploitation in Thailand.

The kingdom has a poor road safety record on crashes with around 24,000 people perishing on its roads each year, according to the World Health Organization.

Last week 18 people died when a bus veered of the road and smashed into a tree in the northeast of the country.

The driver of that bus later confessed to being on drugs at the time of the crash.</s>BANGKOK (Reuters) - A fire on board a bus in western Thailand killed 20 migrant workers from Myanmar early on Friday, police said.

The bus was carrying 47 workers who had just crossed the border into Thailand to work legally. Three other people on the bus were injured but the rest escaped unharmed, police said.

“The driver said he saw fire breaking out from the middle of the bus, which then spread quickly,” Kritkanok Dan-udom, the chief of Maetor district police station, told Reuters.

Pictures in Thai media showed the burnt-out shell of the bus.

Thailand’s roads have been ranked as the deadliest in the world after Libya’s, according to the World Health Organization’s most recent study.

Thailand is estimated to have more than 3 million migrant workers, many of whom come from much poorer neighbor Myanmar. Work permit rules were tightened last year.</s>BANGKOK (AP) - A fire on a double-decker bus carrying migrant workers killed 20 people early Friday a week after another high death toll showed the continuing dangers of Thailand's roads.

The fire was reported to police around 1:30 a.m. in Tak province in western Thailand along the border with Myanmar. The bus was heading to a factory in an industrial zone near Bangkok. Local media said the workers were from Myanmar.

Police Lt. Raewat Aiemtak said 27 people managed to escape the fire, with one of them severely burned.

A burnt double-decker bus is seen in Tak province, Thailand, Friday, March 30, 2018. Police say a fire on a bus carrying migrant workers to Thai factories has killed 20 people. It occurred in a western province along the border with Myanmar, and reports say the workers were from there. Police said the driver told police the fire started in the middle of the bus and spread quickly, trapping victims at the back of the bus.(Daily News via AP)

The cause of the fire wasn't immediately known, but Raewat said the driver reported the fire started in the middle of the bus and spread quickly. People in the front managed to escape but those in the back of the vehicle were trapped.

On March 21, a chartered tour bus lost control on a downhill curve in Thailand's northeast and slid off the road, killing 18 people and injuring 33. A day later, a bus on a school trip in the central province of Ayutthaya skidded in the rain and flipped, injuring 39 people.

Thailand has the second-highest rate of traffic fatalities in the world after Libya, according to World Health Organization statistics.

Thai firefighters work on a burnt double-decker bus in Tak province, Thailand, Friday, March 30, 2018. Police say a fire on a bus carrying migrant workers to Thai factories has killed 20 people. It occurred in a western province along the border with Myanmar, and reports say the workers were from there. Police said the driver told police the fire started in the middle of the bus and spread quickly, trapping victims at the back of the bus.(Daily News via AP)</s>BANGKOK (AP) — A fire on a double-decker bus carrying migrant workers killed 20 people early Friday a week after another high death toll showed the continuing dangers of Thailand’s roads.

The fire was reported to police around 1:30 a.m. in Tak province in western Thailand along the border with Myanmar. The bus was heading to a factory in an industrial zone near Bangkok. Local media said the workers were from Myanmar.

Police Lt. Raewat Aiemtak said 27 people managed to escape the fire, with one of them severely burned.

The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known, but Raewat said the driver reported the fire started in the middle of the bus and spread quickly. People in the front managed to escape but those in the back of the vehicle were trapped.

On March 21, a chartered tour bus lost control on a downhill curve in Thailand’s northeast and slid off the road, killing 18 people and injuring 33. A day later, a bus on a school trip in the central province of Ayutthaya skidded in the rain and flipped, injuring 39 people.

Thailand has the second-highest rate of traffic fatalities in the world after Libya, according to World Health Organization statistics.</s>A fire onboard a bus in Thailand's western Tak Province kills at least 20 migrant workers from Myanmar, police say. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).</s>A fire on board a bus in western Thailand killed 20 migrant workers from Myanmar early on Friday, police said.

The bus was carrying 47 workers who had just crossed the border into Thailand to work legally. Three other people on the bus were injured but the rest escaped unharmed, police said.

“The driver said he saw fire breaking out from the middle of the bus, which then spread quickly,” Kritkanok Dan-udom, the chief of Maetor district police station, told Reuters.

Pictures in Thai media showed the burnt-out shell of the bus.</s>At least 20 people died when a double-decker bus carrying dozens of migrant workers from Myanmar caught fire Friday in western Thailand, authorities said.

The bus was transporting 47 people in Tak province, along the border with Myanmar, when it caught fire while heading to a factory in an industrial zone near Bangkok, police said.

The incident occurred just eight days after 19 people were killed when a bus traveling in another part of the country veered off the road and smashed into a tree.

Late on Friday, investigators said they were trying to determine what caused the double-decker to erupt in flames.

“The bodies were sent to Taksin Hospital for identification, while officials need to interview all survivors,” police Col. Krissanok Danudom told BenarNews. “Officials need time to gather all evidence before they can specify the cause of this tragic accident.”

Bus driver Bantoon Vitoon, 48, told investigators the fire erupted in the lower deck, which was packed with luggage and passengers’ belongings.

Upon seeing the fire, he said, he immediately stopped the bus and tried to wake his passengers.

Most of the victims were burned beyond recognition, making identification difficult, according to Col. Krissana Pattanacharoen, a spokesman for the Royal Thai Police.

Officials from Myawaddy town in southeastern Myanmar arrived in Tak province late Friday to meet the governor and police officials.

“Thai government agencies will help workers who still want to travel to their destinations in Bangkok, while officials need to do DNA tests on the bodies,” Tak Governor Charoenrit Sa-nguansat told reporters.

Ye Min, a member of the Aid Alliance Committee for Myanmar Workers (ACC), a Bangkok-based group that advocates for the rights of migrant workers, confirmed that the bus was carrying 47 people.

“These workers were coming into Thailand through Mae Sot [district] with a chartered bus,” Ye Min told the Myanmar Service of Radio Free Asia which is affiliated with BenarNews.

Thailand has the second highest road traffic fatality rate in the world after Libya, at 36 per 100,000 with an annual estimate of more than 24,000 or 66 deaths every day, according to the World Health Organization.

Thailand also is a popular destination for migrant workers from across the Greater Mekong Delta region, as well other parts of Asia. After its economy grew at an average annual rate of 7.5 percent in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the country created millions of jobs that helped pull people out of poverty, according to the World Bank.

Thailand has about 2.7 million registered migrant workers, mainly from Myanmar and Cambodia, according to the Thai Labor Ministry.</s>BANGKOK (AP) — Police says a fire on a bus carrying migrant workers to factories near Bangkok has killed 20 people.
A bus carrying migrant workers from Myanmar catches fire near Bangkok, Thailand, killing twenty people and injuring one other.