Police officers search through the wreckage of the burnt-out bus in Chongqing Friday. Photo: Xinhua

By Chen Yang 
 
The death toll from the bus blaze in Chengdu rose to 27 yesterday after two people succumbed to their injuries in hospital, an official said.

Liu Qi, a 17-year-old boy, and Zun Yishun, a 69-year-old man, had been badly burnt and suffered severe damage to their respiratory systems, Yang Wei, head of the Chengdu Public Health Bureau, said at a press conference.

Of the other injured passengers, four are in a critical condition, 14 are in a serious condition and 54 are stable, he said.

Twenty-five people died at the scene and 76 were injured when a No. 9 bus caught fire in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, at about 8 am Friday. Just 10 people, including the driver, managed to escape the blaze without injury.

Two people were later discharged from hospital.

Hu Qinghan, director of the Chengdu Communications Commission, said at a news conference that 45-year-old driver Luo Pei had a good driving record and helped to rescue people from the burning bus, which was equipped with three emergency hammers.

He did not explain why Luo had not opened the doors to let people out.

At a news conference Friday, Hu said self-combustion and mechanical problems had been ruled out as the possible cause of the blaze.

“The blaze was not fueled by diesel from the tank,” he said.

He did not rule out the possibility that the fire had been caused by sabotage, but authorities made no mention of this yesterday.
 
They said only that the incident was under investigation.

Passenger Chen Chuanwen, a middle school student, told his mother Guo Xiaohong he saw a man deliberately drop a bottle of liquid on to the floor of the bus, after which he could smell gas, China Youth Daily reported.

The man, described as being 1.8 meters tall, then escaped through the only unsealed window. He was taken to hospital and was spoken to by police, Guo said.

Other survivors said they also smelled gas prior to the blaze, the Chongqing Evening News reported.

Passenger Fu Jin said he saw some liquid on the floor and could smell a strong odor.

“At first there was white smoke, then it became black,” he said.

“I’ve been to the vehicle maintenance shop many times and I’m sure it was gas.”

An anonymous official from the Chengdu Public Security Bureau told the Global Times yesterday the cause of the blaze is under investigation.

A gruesome video clip of the incident, uploaded to the Internet by an unknown person, has attracted a lot of attention.

“The bus designer should take responsibility for the incident,” an anonymous person said at Sohu.com.

“There should be an alarm system on buses to stop them becoming overloaded,” another said at NetEase.com.

Firefighter Wang Yebin, who was involved in the rescue effort, told the Chengdu Evening News he had been deeply saddened by the incident.

“I’ve never seen such a blaze in my 12 years’ experience as a fireman,” he said.