Forty-five people were injured while trying to escape from a
trolley bus that was engulfed in fire Tuesday in Xi'an, capital of
northwest China's Shaanxi Province, police and witnesses said on
Wednesday.
Most of the victims suffered sprains and bruises after jumping
off the bus windows, and three of them were seriously injured, said
a traffic police officer.
All the injured passengers were treated at the No. 4 hospital in
Xi'an and one of them was hospitalized, he said.
Hospital sources said Han Fenghui, 52, needed further treatment
for his injuries on the head, chest and limbs.
Han said the fully loaded bus, in service on route No. 102,
caught fire at around 9:00 AM Tuesday on Dachashi Street, close to
the city's downtown railway station. "The panic-stricken passengers
smashed the windowpanes to escape."
Some passengers used the fire extinguishers on the bus to put
out the flames.
A repairman said the fire started in the gearbox. Investigation
is going on.
(Xinhua News Agency September 5, 2007)
