BEIJING: At least 42 people died yesterday when fire engulfed a bus in minutes during rush hour in the Chinese city of Xiamen, state media reported, the country’s deadliest road accident in recent years.
Images on Internet news portals showed a burnt-out shell was all that remained of the vehicle, which caught fire in the city, in the southeastern province of Fujian, at about 6.30pm, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing local officials.
Online pictures also showed survivors with bloodstained clothes sitting stunned, and thick, black plumes of smoke rising from the BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) vehicle as it burned on an elevated road.
Xinhua reported 42 fatalities and 33 passengers injured in the blaze while the Fujian Daily newspaper said 48 people had died.
Some online reports said about 100 people were on the bus, which was on fire for 10 minutes before it was destroyed by a series of explosions.
Witnesses said ambulances took away “many” injured people from the site, Xinhua said.
One passenger told the news agency that she had smelled gasoline before the blaze quickly engulfed the vehicle.
A local official said the bus caught fire 500 metres from the Jinshan bus stop, which appears to be in a residential area of the city.
The accident was under investigation, Xinhua added.
Although accidents on China’s popular urban bus network are less common, many buses are crowded with both standing and sitting passengers.
BRT networks, which now operate in many of China’s heavily congested cities, provide faster bus travel by using roads designated for public transport.
The BRT system in Xiamen was closed following the accident, the Southern Metropolis Daily said.
The news filtered through late yesterday, but thousands took to China’s hugely popular online message boards to pay tribute to the dead.
AFP
