Xinhua News Agency said the 27 people were killed when the bus caught fire during the evening rush hour on its way to the center of Chongqing from Wansheng district. It said another 11 people on board the bus had been “rushed to a nearby hospital for emergency treatment.”

Xinhua said the bus driver survived and was being questioned by police.

The fire was “quite fierce,” one rescuer was quoted as saying.

No other details were immediately available.

Buses in many parts of China are poorly maintained and fires occasionally happen. Early last month 45 passengers were forced to smash windows to escape a fire on a bus in the ancient city of Xi’an, according to Xinhua at the time.

Three people were hospitalized with serious injuries in that incident.

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