26 charred to death in China as tour bus catches fire

Beijing, March 23 (PTI): A tour bus with 56 people on board caught fire in China's central Hunan province, killing 26 people and injuring 28 others, officials said Saturday. The accident occurred on Friday when the 59-seater bus from the neighbouring Henan province suddenly caught fire on a highway in Hanshou county in Changde city. The 28 injured were rushed to three local hospitals. Five of the injured are in a critical condition, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted local officials as saying. The bus had 53 passengers, two drivers and a tour guide at the time of the incident. The two drivers were detained and an investigation into the cause of the accident was underway. The incident came a day after 64 people lost their lives while 640 were injured in a powerful explosion at a chemical plant in eastern China. The blast occurred on Thursday following a fire in a fertilizer factory in a chemical industrial park in Yancheng, Jiangsu province, according to the government of Xiangshui county.