A school bus crashed into an electric pole leaving 23 students injured in Thailand.

The bus was taking the pupils to school when its front tyre exploded in Uttaradit province, on February 5 morning. It skidded off the road and slammed into a power pole.

Police Colonel Kraisit Prompatima, superintendent of the Mueang Uttaradit Police Station, said police received a report at 7:13 am.

They arrived at the scene, where the children and the teenage driver, identified only as 'Miss A', 19, were trapped inside the vehicle. Rescue volunteers used metal cutters to free the passengers, who were taken to the Pitsanuvej Uttaradit and Fort Pichaidaphak Hospitals.

Authorities said two people were severely injured.

Chakhriya Sethaseree, an officer from the provincial disaster prevention office, said: 'There were no fatalities. The van was driven by a female student who was acting as a chaperone to transport the 23 students.

'When she arrived at the scene of the accident, the car's tyre blew out. She lost control and hit an electric pole on the side of the road. As a result, everyone in the van was injured and 2 people were seriously wounded. But everyone is now safe.

'The driver's parents arrived at the scene. They said they could not drive the school bus themselves because they were having another car repaired.'

Provincial governor Siriwat Bupphacharoen later visited the injured pupils and provided financial assistance to cover their hospital bills. He said he has ordered education officers to inspect school buses for safety to reduce accident rates.

Thailand has one of the world's worst road safety records. Ministers have set the goal of reducing fatalities from 32.7 deaths per 100,000 people to 12 per 100,000 people by the year 2027.

However, a lack of road safety education in schools along with notoriously easy driving tests, police failures to enforce road laws, and chronic under-investment in infrastructure, all appear to hamper the efforts.