CHANGSHA, June 26, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Photo provided by witness on June 26, 2016 shows the accident site of a bus fire in Yizhang County, central China's Hunan Province. Casualties have been reported after a passenger bus burst into flames on a highway in Yizhang on Sunday morning, local authorities and rescuers said. The exact number of victims is still being verified. (Xinhua)
CHANGSHA, June 26 (Xinhua) -- At least 30 people were killed after a tour bus burst into flames in Hunan Province on Sunday morning, local authorities confirmed.
The accident happened at about 10:20 a.m., when the bus carrying 56 people crashed into guardrails on a highway in Yizhang County. The ensuing oil leak may have caused the fire, the county government said.
Twenty-one people have been sent to hospitals, and rescuers are still searching the charred frame of the bus.
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.
A work team headed by Vice Public Security Minister Huang Ming is heading for Hunan to guide the investigation and handling of the accident on site.
Police have detained the driver.
