29 Aug 2008

Bus fire in Fiji kills ten people

1:43 pm on 29 August 2008

Ten people died when a bus caught fire near Sigatoka in Fiji.

The bus had been carrying a large family group of as many as 40 people to Nadi.

Among the dead was a pregnant woman and her two young children.

Our Fiji correspondent, Matelita Ragogo, reports:

"The bus was travelling to Nadi from Suva. It was an extended family. They were travelling to Nadi for a funeral. In Sigatoka, the town between Suva and Nadi, the bus caught fire. It happened inside the bus, near the driver's seat. People couldn't get out through the door. They tried to get out through the windows. The police are still trying to get details of what happened, but the accident happened at 1.30 in the morning. Nine people died immediately and one person eventually died at the hospital in Sigatoka."

Matelita Ragogo.