Thousands gathered in central Thailand on Tuesday to mark the last rites for 20 schoolchildren and their three teachers killed in a bus inferno last week.

The students had been returning from a school trip when their coach burst a tyre, crashed into a highway barrier just north of the capital Bangkok and erupted into flames.

Devastated families gathered early on Tuesday at the school in Uthai Thani province where the victims studied and worked — and where families had expected the bus to return safely.

A marching band played solemnly in the rain as royal palace staff carried the coffins onto traditional funerary carriages.

Parents dressed in black escorted the caskets carrying their children, placing portraits and toys beside them.

‘When I heard the news, I hoped it wasn’t my son,’ said Wichan Suebsaichan, the father of nine-year-old Reutthawat.

‘He was a very good boy, happy and sporty. He wanted to be a football player.’

Bantima Tuadchampa lost her six-year-old grandson in the blaze.

‘Now the house just seems too quiet,’ she said. ‘I can’t handle it. May he rest in peace.’

Monks chanted as the 23 caskets were placed into individual cremation furnaces, ending a week of traditional funeral ceremonies.

Approximately 5,000 people attended the mass cremation, including community members and high-ranking government officials.

Thai police said last week they had arrested and detained the bus driver, Samarn Chanput, 48.

He faces four charges, including reckless driving causing death and fleeing the scene of the crash.

The tragedy ignited public debate about vehicle safety, with many questioning the use of compressed gas tanks on buses.

The transport ministry recalled more than 13,000 gas-fuelled buses last week to conduct safety checks.

Prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Monday the government had also established a committee to implement new safety measures to prevent road accidents.

Around 20,000 deaths are reported every year on Thailand’s roads, according to the World Health Organization, an average of more than 50 a day.

Speeding, drink driving and poor vehicle standards all contribute to the toll but weak enforcement of rules, exacerbated by rampant corruption in the police, also undermines efforts to improve safety.

Bereaved family members at the funeral hit out at the bus company for not following public transport regulations and demanded the prohibition of gas-fuelled buses.

‘The bus driver should also know everything about the bus so when accidents like this happen, he can know how to save the passengers,’ Bantima said.

Wichan blamed the loss of his son’s life on the company’s failure to conduct proper checks on their vehicle.

He said he and other families would file a class-action lawsuit against the bus company for negligence.

However, he said compensation would never be enough.

‘No punishment or amount of money is more important than my son’s life.’