The Associated Press
BEIJING — A fire Friday morning aboard a bus in southwestern China has killed 24 people, and left another 44 hospitalized, state media reported.
The Xinhua News Agency said another 10 people escaped the blaze in the city of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province.
However, a Web site run by provincial government’s propaganda department said 44 people had been hospitalized in addition to the 24 pronounced dead at the scene, with 27 of those suffering severe injuries.
Neither report gave any indication of the cause of the fire, which broke out on a No. 9 city bus at about 8:30 a.m. (0030 GMT) as it was passing near the city zoo. Chengdu city government spokesmen reached by phone refused to officer additional information.
Pictures posted on blogs and Internet forums showed the bus consumed with flames. One badly burned and bloody woman was seen laying on the road with another man standing over her, his clothes burned off and his skins singed bright red.