About 20 school children were injured when a passenger van in which they were travelling to schools crashed into a roadside power pole apparently after one of the car tires burst in the northern province of Lampang this morning.

The incident happened on Lampang-Chiang Mai highway in Tambon Pong Saen Thong, Muang district of Lampang.  The young victims, who suffered injuries with no death,  were rushed by rescue workers to the district hospital for medical treatment.

The driver was also injured as he was trapped in the driver’s seat and had to be pulled out by rescue workers.

Police said that all the students of kindergarten up to high-school levels were residents of Tambon Wiang Tarn and Tambon Hang Chat and they were travelling together in a passenger van to schools in Muang district.

Police said the accident happened apparently after the bursting of one of the tires which caused the van to lose control and slam into a roadside power pole.