At least 24 people were killed in the bus fire, which occurred early on Friday [AFP]

According to state news agency Xinhua, the bus caught fire in rush hour traffic at 8am (00:00 GMT) on Friday.

Local authorities said that 76 people were injured in the blaze, 27 of them seriously.

State broadcaster CCTV cited witnesses as saying the sealed, air-conditioned bus caught fire without an explosion, and then burned rapidly.

Like many vehicles in Chengdu, the bus ran on natural gas rather than gasoline.

Officials said more than 10 passengers managed to escape the burning vehicle.

Pictures posted on internet forums showed the bus in flames.

One badly burned woman was seen lying on the road with a man, his clothes burnt off, standing near her.

A report on a website run by the Sichuan provincial government said the cause of the blaze was still being investigated.

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