Memories and prayers are shared at a small-town funeral for the victims of horrific Thai bus fire

Associated Press

LAN SAK, Thailand (AP) — A small town in central Thailand is holding a mass funeral for the 23 students and teachers who died in a bus fire while on a school trip earlier this week. Families and friends of the dead, who tearfully recalled the children’s short lives, were joined at their funeral in the small central Thai town of Lan Sak by a representative bearing a wreath from King Maha Vajiralongkorn. The funeral is being held on the grounds of the Buddhist monastery that houses the school the victims had attended. Police are investigating whether the fire was caused by negligence, and inspections were ordered for natural-gas fueled buses.