Bus Fire

[Broken Glass Can]

Bus Carrying Evacuees Catches Fire; 20 Reported Dead

A bus carrying elderly evacuees from Hurricane Rita caught fire early Friday on gridlocked Interstate 45, killing or injuring an unknown number of passengers, authorities said.

The bus was engulfed with flames, causing a 17-mile backup on a freeway that was already heavily congested with evacuees from the Gulf Coast. Dallas television station WFAA reported 20 persons were killed.

"There were 45 souls on the bus ... at this point we believe we have about half accounted-for," Dallas County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Don Peritz said.

"The early indications are this is a mechanical issue. The driver did survive the accident," Peritz said. "It's my understanding he went back on the bus several times to try to evacuate people."

He said there were indications that oxygen used by elderly evacuees could have had a role in the fire.

A large, burned-out shell of the bus was to the side of the interstate, where cars were backed up for numerous miles, surrounded by numerous police cars and ambulances.