Chengdu bus blaze may have been sabotage

Preliminary investigations suggest a fierce blaze which gutted a bus leaving 25 people dead and 76 injured in southwest China may have been started deliberately, according to state press.

The packed single-decker bus burst into flames early Friday morning in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, after a fire apparently started inside and quickly engulfed the whole vehicle.

"What we can say now is that we have ruled out the theory of self-combustion or a mechanical glitch," the Beijing News cited Chengdu transport spokesman Hu Qinghan as saying at a Saturday news conference.

"Initial investigations at the scene have concluded the theory (that sabotage may have been involved)."

Further investigation into the blaze was ongoing, he said.

Most of the victims were trapped inside the vehicle as the doors failed to open and the windows on the air-conditioned bus were shut tight.

The bus's diesel tanks were intact and investigators have concluded that the flammable liquid that caused the fire was not from the fuel tanks, Hu said.

According to state radio, 15 of the 25 dead have not been identified, while 20 of the injured remain in serious condition.

Only about 10 people on the bus, including the driver, were able to escape the blaze without injury, previous reports said.