At least 12 people died, eight were seriously injured and 41 were still missing after a bus carrying 152 passengers caught fire in central Malawi, police said Sunday.
The double-decker bus belonging to state-run Shire Buslines caught fire late Friday, as it was leaving Dedza town, 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of the administrative capital Lilongwe, police spokesman Oliver Soko told AFP.
The bodies of the dead were charred beyond recognition, and had also been trampled in the stampede of fleeing passengers, he said.
"The cause of the fire is unknown," he added.
Police and the bus company were investigating the cause of the fire.
Eight passengers were in critical condition late Saturday and had been transferred to hospitals in Lilongwe and Blantyre, Soko said.
Soko said the death toll might rise, as 41 passengers have not been accounted for -- BLANTYRE (AFP)
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