BEIJING (AFP) ? A fire on an overcrowded bus carrying flammable materials killed 41 passengers in central China on Friday, state television reported, in one of the country's worst road accidents this year.
The double-decker bus was taking people to southern Hunan province when it caught fire early on Friday morning on a highway, China Central Television (CCTV) said, adding the cause of the disaster is still being investigated.
Five passengers and the driver were pulled alive from the overnight bus, which was reportedly only designed to carry 35 passengers but had 47 people on board.
CCTV said there were "flammable materials" on board, but did not provide further details.
A police officer told Xinhua the fire raged for two hours and completely destroyed the bodies of the victims, who would only be identified after authorities carried out DNA tests on the charred corpses.
Photos of the tragedy showed the bus had been completely destroyed by the blaze, leaving only a burnt-out shell.
The report said the survivors, one of whom was very seriously injured, have been rushed to hospital.
A government spokesman in Xinyang, where the accident occurred, told AFP there was no confirmed death toll. The police and fire departments in the city both refused to comment.
China's roads are among the world's most dangerous, with traffic and safety laws widely flouted. Drivers looking to maximise profits often load their buses with too many passengers, sometimes triggering deadly incidents.
In 2010, more than 65,200 people died in road accidents -- around 178 fatalities a day -- according to official statistics.
This year has also seen several high-profile road accidents.
In March, at least three people died and up to 80 were injured when a bus driver in the northwestern region of Xinjiang lost control of the vehicle and collided with a passing passenger train.
The bus, which was carrying mostly students on their way to school, broke through a protective fence next to railway tracks in Xinjiang's capital Urumqi and hit the train.
In another accident in February, 12 people were killed when a minibus toppled into a reservoir in the southeastern province of Fujian, after the driver apparently swerved to avoid a motorbike.
Last December, 21 people died -- including 14 schoolchildren -- and 25 more were injured in two horrific car accidents, one of which involved more than 100 vehicles.
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