Thai police arrest the driver and are working to identify the victims of the school bus fire that killed 23 people

BANGKOK (AP) — Thai police have arrested the driver A bus carrying young students and teachers caught fire and killed 23 people in a Bangkok suburb as families arrived in the capital on Wednesday to help identify their loved ones.

The bus carrying six teachers and 39 elementary and middle school students was traveling Tuesday from Uthai Thani province, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) north of Bangkok, for a school trip to Ayutthaya and Nonthaburi provinces. The fire broke out as the bus was traveling on a highway north of the capital and spread so quickly that many were unable to escape.

Trairong Phiwpan, head of the police forensic department, said 23 bodies were recovered from the bus. The recovery effort and confirmation of the total number of deaths had previously been delayed as the burned natural gas-powered vehicle remained too hot to board for hours.

The families were driven in vans from Uthai Thani to the forensic department of the Police General Hospital in Bangkok on Wednesday to provide DNA samples for the identification process. Kornchai Klaiklung, assistant to the chief of the Royal Thai Police, told reporters the forensic team was working as quickly as it could to identify the victims.

The driver, identified by police as Saman Chanput, turned himself in on Tuesday evening, several hours after the fire. Police said they charged him with reckless driving resulting in death and injury, for failing to stop to help others and for failing to report the accident.

The driver told investigators he was driving normally until the bus lost balance on its right front tire, hit another car and scraped into a concrete highway guardrail, producing sparks that ignited the fire, said Chayanont Meesati, deputy regional police chief , told reporters.

The driver said he ran to get a fire extinguisher from another bus that was on the same trip but was unable to put out the fire and then ran away because he panicked, Chayanont said.

Police said they were investigating whether the bus company complied with all safety standards.

In an interview with public broadcaster Thai PBS, bus company owner Songwit Chinnaboot said the bus was inspected for safety twice a year as required and that the gas cylinders met safety standards. He also said he would compensate the victims' families as much as possible.

Three students are hospitalized, two of whom were in serious condition, according to the hospital. A 7-year-old girl suffered burns to her face and a surgeon said doctors were doing their best to save her eyesight.