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35 killed, 11 injured in China bus fire

The accident happened in Hunan province when the bus carrying 56 people crashed into the guardrails on a highway. The ensuing oil leak may have caused the fire, the county government said.
Eleven people including four seriously injured have been hospitalised and rescuers are still searching the charred frame of the bus.

The police has detained the driver of the bus, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.State Councilor Guo Shengkun, who is also public security minister, has ordered all-out efforts to save the injured, identify the cause of the accident, and to take measures to prevent similar tragedies from happening again.

State-run broadcaster CCTV showed a video in which thick smoke can be seen billowing out from the vehicle while passengers struggle to get out of the bus.

Traffic accidents are common in China and according to the World Health Organisation over 250,000 people die in road accidents in China every year. A survivor surnamed Huang said the driver told them the bus door could not be opened and then escaped from the window next to his seat. Huang smashed a window with a fire extinguisher in order to get out.

Video footage taken by a witness showed that fire engulfed the bus minutes after the crash. Some passengers were seen limping out of the bus covered in blood, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. 

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