Friday, 19/01/2018 17:37 (GMT+7)
The Kazakh Interior Ministry on January 18th announced a bus caught fire in a remote part of Kazakhstan, killing 52 citizens of neighbouring Uzbekistan.
(Source: RT)
The bus, carrying 55 passengers and two drivers, was travelling along a remote road in the northwestern Aktobe region when it burst into flames.
Only five people managed to escape, the Kazakh emergencies department said in a statement.
It added that the bus was travelling from the southern Kazakh town of Shymkent to the Russian city of Samara on the Volga river, a distance of almost 1,900 kilometres.
The Ministry said the apparent accident had happened at 10h30 local time, but provided no details about its cause.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev sent a message of condolence to Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev saying he shared "in the irreplaceable loss".
"I wish the wounded people a speedy recovery and a return to their families," he said, adding his country has set up a special commission to determine the cause of the fire./.
Compiled by BTA