Three bus-blaze students remain in hospital with severe burns

Three schoolgirls from Uthai Thani who suffered severe burns in last week’s deadly bus blaze continue to receive emergency treatment in hospital. 
Two girls, aged seven and nine years, are at Thammasat University Hospital in Pathum Thani province. The seven-year-old has second degree burns to her face, body and hands. The burns cover 13% of her body.
The hospital said the girl was able to communicate but was dependant on a respirator and was being given pain killers and sleep medication through a nasogastric feeding tube.
The girl could open and close her eyes when instructed to do so. 
The nine-year-old girl had second degree burns over 30% of her body – to her face, neck, arms and hands. She could communicate but was also dependent on a respirator and receiving pain killers and sleep medication through a nasogastric feeding tube.
She still had a high fever and was receiving antibiotics through an intravenous drip. She could open and close her eyes on demand and could see and count fingers.
The third girl, aged 14, was at the Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Heath. The institute said the girl was responding to treatment and her burns were healing. She could use her hands and arms normally.
The three girls are students at Wat Khao Phraya Sangkharam School in Lan Sak district of Uthai Thani. His Majesty the King is covering the cost of their treatment.
They were in one of three buses carrying students from the school on a one-day field trip to Ayutthaya and Bangkok on Oct 1. Their bus, with 46 students and teachers, crashed and caught fire as the convoy travelled through Pathum Thani. The ensuing inferno killed 20 students and three teachers. Eight others were rushed to hospital.
The royally sponsored cremation of those killed was held on the sports field at their school in Uthai Thani on Tuesday.
The investigation into the cause of the fire continues. It is now believed to have been fuelled by a gas leak. Transport officials said extra gas cylinders had been installed illegally on the bus and other vehicles in the same fleet, operated by Chinnaboot Tour and based in Sing Buri. 
Investigators have still not confirmed how the fire started, although the driver said a front left tyre blew out and the wheel caught fire, causing the bus to crash into the highway median barrier.