Bus fire kills three in China

SHANGHAI, May 5 (UPI) -- Three people died when a fire erupted Monday on a passenger bus carrying about 50 people in China, officials said.

The incident occurred in Shanghai but authorities said the cause of the explosion and fire was not immediately known, Xinhua reported.

Firefighters put out the blaze in about 30 minutes. One witness was quoted as saying the passengers couldn't open the windows of the air-conditioned vehicle to escape.

An elderly woman said the fire broke out in the rear of the bus.

"It was chaos. I was holding my granddaughter, when people pushed me off the bus," she told Xinhua.