52 killed on bus in Kazakhstan following tragic fire

The interior ministry of Kazakhstan has confirmed that 52 people have died as a result of a bus catching fire in the north-western region of the country.
Five people successfully managed to escape the bus and were treated by rescue workers at the scene, according to reports, but the tragedy has rocked the country.
The accident took place at 10:30 on the 18th January, in the Irgiz district of the Aktobe region of the country.
Local media have claimed that the bus was thought to be carrying Uzbek citizens either to or from Russia along the Samara-Shymkent route.
The route itself – which is a staggering 2,200km (1,300 miles) long – is regularly used by Uzbek migrant labourers who travel to construction sites in Russia, according to observers.
Speaking to the AFP news agency, the emergency services ministry told them that 55 passengers and two drivers were aboard the bus.
“Five passengers received medical assistance. The remainder were killed,” it said in a statement.
One of the drivers had claimed that the passengers were indeed Uzbek nationals, and that the vehicle was registered in Kazakhstan, AFP were told, with ministry official Ruslan Imankulov delivering the news.
It’s unclear what started the fire, but it spread at a rapid pace through the Setra bus.