24 killed in Chinese bus fire

A fire on a public bus has killed 24 people and left another 44 in hospital this morning in southwestern China.

Another 10 people escaped the blaze in the city of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, the Xinhua News Agency said.

Pictures posted on blogs and internet forums showed the bus consumed by flames.

One badly burned and bloodstained woman was seen on the road with a man standing over her, his clothes burned off and his skin singed bright red.

A website run by the provincial government’s propaganda department said 44 people were in hospital, with 27 of those suffering severe injuries.

Neither report gave any indication of the cause of the fire, which broke out on a number nine city bus at about 8.30am local time as it passed near the city zoo.