Evacuation bus death toll rises to 24

A bus carrying elderly evacuees from Hurricane Rita caught fire early today on gridlocked Interstate 45 in Texas, killing or injuring an unknown number of passengers.

The bus was engulfed with flames, causing a 17-mile backup on a freeway that was already heavily congested with evacuees from the Gulf Coast.

Authorities say as many as 24 people were killed in the fire.

“There were 45 souls on the bus … at this point we believe we have about half accounted-for,” said Dallas County sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Don Peritz.

“The early indications are this is a mechanical issue. The driver did survive the accident,” Peritz said. “It’s my understanding he went back on the bus several times to try to evacuate people.”

A large, burned-out shell of the bus was to the side of the interstate, where cars were backed up for numerous miles, surrounded by numerous police cars and ambulances.

A sheriff’s spokesman said: “Deputies were unable to get everyone off the bus.”

The bus was rocked by a series of explosions after the fire broke out. An eyewitness told local KLIF radio that she and her family saw people trapped in the bus banging on the windows.

The sheriff’s spokesman said oxygen was used by the elderly evacuees could have played a role in the fire.

He said the bus driver made several trips back on board to try to rescue passengers.