Tragedy in Kazakhstan: 52 people burned to death in bus

Fifty-two people were killed after a bus they were traveling in caught fire in Kazakhstan’s Aktau region, spokesperson of the emergency situations committee of Kazakshtan's Interior Ministry Ruslan Imankulov said.

The accident happened at 10:30 local time on Thursday (04:30 GMT) in the Irgiz district of Aktobe region.

There were 55 passengers and 2 drivers in the Ikarus passenger bus. Only five passengers managed to escape the burning vehicle and were treated by rescue workers on the spot, according to the report.

It is unclear whether the passengers were Kazakh nationals or citizens from another country. Local media say that the bus was believed to have been carrying Uzbek citizens to or from Russia along the Samara-Shymkent route, BBC reported.