Chinese police say that at least 38 people have been killed and five injured after a crash sparked a fierce blaze on a highway in the center of the country.
Xinhua news agency reported Saturday that around five vehicles were destroyed in the accident, which happened around 3 a.m. local time on a section of the Shanghai to Kunming Expressway in Hunan Province, SIA reports with reference to AA.
It said that a freight van loaded with flammable liquid struck a coach from the rear.
Provincial traffic police aid that the driver of the van and a passenger in it died at the scene, and all injured have been rushed to a local hospital for emergency treatment.
Exact casualties are still under investigation but the agency reported that the coach was capable of carrying 53 people.
The fire was extinguished around 5 hours later.
Xinhua reported that the local government has ordered all-out rescue efforts, a joint task team from the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Transport, and the State Administration of Work Safety, arriving at the site for rescue and investigation purposes.