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Passengers flee as bus goes up in flames

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-09-04 13:16

 

Police in Chongqing are investigating the freak fire of a bus that injured seven people yesterday afternoon.

"Of the seven, one suffered second-degree burns while the others suffered mild injuries," local police said without further elaboration.

The bus on route No 120 was carrying more than 20 people in the southern district of Caiyuanba neighborhood when the fire broke out, police sources said.

"It started in the fifth row from the back and caught the feet of some guy sitting there on fire," a passenger who sat in the third row from the back told China Daily.

"It was mid-afternoon. We were all sleepy until this guy tried to stomp out the fire and woke us. And then, in about a dozen seconds, the fire suddenly got big," said the passenger, a 51-year-old construction engineer, who declined to reveal his name.

"We were afraid the bus would blow up because it runs on natural gas. Luckily it didn't. It burned down in two to three minutes," said a man surnamed Huang, a 53-year-old manager of a motorbike repair shop near the site.

Police have spoken to 30 people, including passengers and witnesses, and have searched surveillance cameras in the neighborhood, but have not yet released any findings.

About an hour and a half before yesterday's bus fire, another fire took place at Gaojia Garden Bridge, blocking traffic for hours, local media reported.

About the broadcaster:

Chantal Anderson is a multimedia journalist at the China Daily Web site. Originally from Seattle, Washington she has found her way around the world doing photo essays in Greece, Mexico and Thailand. She is currently completing a double degree in Journalism and International Studies from the University of Washington.