Life is far from back to normal for the students that survived the tragic May 22 Chiang Rai school fire in a girls dormitory that left 17 of their classmates dead.
The school reopened yesterday, but 17 students are gone forever and 22 of the remaining students will not return to classes at Pitak Kiat Withaya School.
Of 142 students that used to go to school there, only about 50 showed up yesterday.
Parents of 22 of the remaining students have pulled them out because of safety concerns. Most of those students are girls that were at school during the fatal fire, according to Thai PBS.
For those students, it means being placed in a new school.
The Chiang Rai Regional Office for the Private Education Commission will find new schools for the girls and refund their school tuition.
A donation fund was set up for the fire victims and it has already tallied more than THB14 million in donations for the girls.
Chief investigation police officer Pol. Maj. Gen. Songtham Alapart noted that the police have interviewed 50 witnesses to see what they know about the fire’s cause and that they should conclude their investigation next week
The authorities no longer think that the fire was an accident. They are focusing more on carelessness and not following fire precaution laws as the reason. After next week, they will announce who will be held responsible for the fire.
