Team to probe bus fire that killed 35

The State Council set up a team on Monday to investigate the bus fire that killed 35 people in Hunan province.

The team will be led by Sun Huashan, deputy head of the State Administration of Work Safety, according to the State Council.

The accident happened at about 10:20 am on Sunday when the bus crashed into a guardrail on a highway in the county of Yizhang. An ensuing fuel leak caused the fire, Xinhua News Agency quoted the local government as saying.

The identities of the 35 victims were being verified.

The bus was carrying 57 passengers, including four children. Thirty-five died, including two children, and 13 were hospitalized.

Seven of the most seriously injured, including two who were critically injured, were being treated at No 1 People's Hospital of Chenzhou, while four who suffered minor injuries were being treated at People's Hospital in Yizhang, said Tao Cheng, a medical expert who participated in the rescue work. Two people with minor injuries were treated at the Yizhang hospital and released.

Of the two who were critically injured, one is a woman in her 50s who suffered burns to 90 percent of her body. The other suffered burns to half of her body, said Tao.

The five other seriously injured people were in stable condition.

The tour, offered by a local outdoor organization and organized by a local travel agency, was headed to Guangdong province. The tour package include 1 million yuan ($150,400) in life insurance for each passenger, China Central Television reported.

The driver, who was not injured, was questioned about whether he opened the door after the fire started, Xinhua reported. The news agency quoted survivors as saying the driver, Liu Dahui, 41, didn't open the door to let passengers escape after the fire started, but escaped from the window of the driver's seat.

"All passengers were looking for hammers or fire extinguishers to crack the window," but could not find them, Beijing News quoted a passenger as saying.