52 people killed in Bus fire in Aktobe

The bus, carrying 55 passengers and two drivers, was travelling along a remote road in the northwestern Aktobe region when it burst into flames on Thursday morning, reports the Kazakh emergencies department.

The bus was traveling from southern Kazakhstan to Russia’s Kazan with 57 people on board. The route is widely used to transport Uzbek workers to and from Russia where they often take work on building sites.

The tragedy happened at 10:30 am local time. Only five people managed to escape.

‘A bus caught fire. 55 passengers and two drivers were on board. Five passengers received medical assistance. The remainder were killed’, the Kazakh emergency services ministry said in a statement. The cause is currently under investigation.

The names of survivors were published later: Pernebekov Maksat Pharkhutdinovich, 32 years old, South Kazakhstan resident; Isakov Akhror, 29 years old, Uzbekistan citizen; Mirzakhmedov Isroildzhon, 37 years old, Uzbekistan citizen; Kyrgyzbayev Nurzhan Abdykarimov Abdykarimovich, 49 years old, South Kazakhstan resident, Tanatarov Barat Mametaliuly, 39 years old, South Kazakhstan resident.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev sent a message of condolence to Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Uzbekistan also sent officials to Aktobe to establish the cause of the accident.

                                                                                                                   “The Qazaq Times”