Nine million baht in public donations will be disbursed among the families of the victims of the bus accident that left 20 students and three teachers dead and three other students injured earlier this month, according to an Interior Ministry official.
Sabeeda Thaised, deputy interior minister, yesterday said the Office of the Insurance Commission had already paid 500,000 baht in compensation to each dead victim's family. The Budget Bureau also gave 1 million baht to the family of each deceased, she said.
She said that the donations from the public, totalling 9.1 million baht -- 6.35 million baht from bank transfers and 2.74 million baht from direct cash donations -- would be divided among the families of all the victims, including that of the survivors.
Half, or about 4.5 million baht, would be given to the families of the 23 deceased victims, and the other half would be given to the families of three severely injured students who are still in hospital.
The allocation of the donations was agreed upon by the families during a meeting witnessed by the deputy interior minister after the funeral for all 23 dead victims on Tuesday.
The families of the 23 deceased victims would receive 197,914 baht each, while the three injured students would receive 1.51 million baht each.
Meanwhile, the Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health yesterday issued a statement on the condition of a 14-year-old female student who was injured in the bus fire incident.
The statement said the initial treatment results were satisfactory, although it will take time for both body and mind to heal.
The overall healing of her burn wounds is progressing, though close monitoring of her left arm is still necessary, it said.
