This picture shows a big fire is engulfing a bus on the street of Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province on Friday, June 5, 2009. [Photo: scol.com.cn]

by Zhang Ru

A bus fire in Chengdu, the capital city of southwest China's Sichuan Province, has killed at least 25 people and wounded 76 others.

Witnesses said it took only a few minutes for the bus to be engulfed by flames.

While the bus had air-conditioning, only the windows at the rearmost seats could be opened by hand.

Most of the passengers were not able to escape from the burning bus in time because they couldn't find lifesaving hammers to break the windows.

An opinion piece in the Beijing News says although the fire was unforeseen, a good emergency evacuation plan is essential for passenger safety.

The writer says since passengers cannot open many of the windows of these types of air-conditioned buses, the bus company should equip each bus with enough emergency lifesaving hammers.

The article also says that in many cites, buses have no conductors. The driver alone cannot arrange evacuation when accidents occur, especially during rush hours.

It adds that besides buses, other public transport such as subway, ships and planes also have safety loopholes. For example, the subway system fails to organize regular evacuation drills and some passenger ships don't have enough life vests, while some use sub-standard ones.