29 Aug 2008

Mourners die in Fiji after bus catches fire

6:58 pm on 29 August 2008

Ten people are dead after a bus carrying up to 40 people caught fire near Sigatoka in Fiji.

The bus had been carrying an extended family to Nadi from Suva for a funeral.

Those killed in the blaze early on Friday morning include a pregnant woman and her two young children.

A Radio New Zealand correspondent in Fiji says the flames, near the driver's seat, blocked the door and passengers tried to get out through the windows.

Nine people died in the fire and a tenth in hospital in Sigatoka.