A press conference is held by the government of Helan County near the bus fire site in Yinchuan, capital of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autnomous Region, Jan. 5, 2016. (Photo: Xinhua/Li Ran)
Fourteen people were killed and 32 injured in a suspected arson attack on a bus on Tuesday morning in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the local government said.
The incident happened at around 7:08 a.m. in Helan County in the regional capital of Yinchuan, when the bus of route 301 caught fire in front of a furniture store.
Of the injured, eight were severely burnt, while the remainder suffered moderate to slight burns, according to the county government. All the injured are being treated at Ningxia Medical University General Hospital, seven are in intensive care.
A dozen relatives were waiting outside the intensive care unit when Xinhua reporters visited the hospital on Tuesday afternoon.
"I was sitting at the front of the bus when suddenly people started screaming 'Fire! Bus on Fire!'," Hu Yuexiang, a 26-year-old man recalled. "When I turned around, the flames were racing toward me very quickly and before I knew it my shoes were on fire."
Hu said the passengers rushed toward the front door pleading with the driver to open it.
"I thought the bus was about to explode, and I was going to die," Hu said. "Then the door opened and we all rushed out."
Hu said he wanted to film the fire, but the bus quickly "turned into a skeleton."
Pictures on microblog Sina Weibo show the entire bus engulfed by flames.
Another patient, Wang Yongfeng, suffered minor burns. His hands are swollen and covered in blisters.
"When I boarded the bus, all the seats were taken, and lots of people were standing," Wang recalled.
The Ningxia public security department is searching for Ma Yongping, the suspected arsonist.
According to police, Ma owns three cars. Police in Ningxia are on high alert for the suspect and his car number plates.
The bus driver sustained minor burns in the incident. The 40-year-old man is assisting police with their investigation, the government said.
The 84-seater bus had more than 40 people on board when it caught fire, according to the Yinchuan publicity office's official Weibo account.
The bus, which was bound for Yinchuan Railway Station, belongs to state-owned Yinchuan Public Transport Co. Ltd. The company has begun a safety check of all its vehicles following the incident.
Public buses are operating normally in Yinchuan.
