Beijing: Thirty-two people were injured after a bus caught fire in east China today.
The fire broke out when the bus was on the Qingchun Road in Hangzhou, capital of east China`s Zhejiang Province, at 5 pm today.
All the injured were rushed to three hospitals for treatment out of which 24 are in serious condition, state-run Xinhua news agency said.
According to security guards and salesmen of a shop nearby, the fire broke out all of a sudden and the flames were huge.
Such incidents in the past have been attributed to disgruntled?people?setting fire to the bus to highlight their?personal problem.
China is also grappling with terrorist attacks being carried out by the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, (ETIM) which is fighting for the independence of Xinjiang province.
But Xinhua news agency quoting a source with the Hangzhou Public Security Bureau said that so far police have not found any clue to show the accident was related to terrorism.
Smoke emerged in the carriage when the No 7 line bus went around at a road cross and then the bus stopped, Zhou Dabo, who eye-witnessed the incident, said.
Drivers of some nearby private cars took out their extinguishers to join the efforts to put out the bus fire.
"Passengers rushed out after the bus`s front door opened. Some smashed window glass and fled from the bus. Many people had smoke dust on their faces and some looked seriously injured," said another witness.
"I was in the bus when I heard many people arguing in the back of the bus and then a fire broke out," said an injured person who is receiving treatment at the Hangzhou No 1 People`s Hospital.
No death case has been reported in today`s incident, although doctors managed to help one injured person regain heart beating and breathing after their sudden stop.
The cause of the blaze is being investigated.
