Burned Bus, 41 Passengers Killed Scorched

Forty-one people were killed and six others injured after a double-decker bus crowded with passengers on fire in Xinyang City, Henan Province, central China, on Friday (22/07/2011) morning. This is the worst bus incident in recent years.

Allegedly about 47 passengers in the vehicle with 35 seats while the bus was on fire at 04:00 local waktui in the Beijing-Zhuhai highway. "The cause of the fire is still under investigation," said Zhang Guohui, head of the Henan Provincial Administration of Work Safety said on Friday.

Among the six passengers were injured, one person was in critical condition. Currently passengers are in critical condition in hospital Zhumandian Number 159, Zhumadian City.

"While the five other passengers, including the bus driver, who suffered minor injuries treated at a hospital in Xinyang," said police officer Xinyang city.

Night bus across the province are designed for long trips with a facility that seats can be arranged to sleep. The bus was en route from the eastern city of Weihai in Shandong Province to the provincial capital Changsha of Hunan, central China.

According to police, it is difficult to recognize the victims of the blaze, which has largely been reduced to ashes. For identification, the police will use DNA tests to identify tests of the victims.