At least 20 killed in bus fire in Peru

LIMA, March 31 (Xinhua) -- AT least 20 people were killed and seven others injured when a double-decker bus caught fire in the Peruvian capital Lima lATe Sunday, local media reported.

According to Peru21 news outlet and local TV channel Canal N, the long-distance bus was en route from Lima to the northern city of Chiclayo.

The blaze erupted in the bus's motor and quickly spread into its interior when the vehicle was AT a bus terminal in the populous northern San Martin de Porres district.

The bus was full of passengers when it burst into flames AT around 8:00 p.m. local time (0100 GMT on Monday) and many people from the upper deck failed to leave the vehicle, the reports said.

The cause of the accident has yet to be determined, a spokesman from the fire department was quoted by Canal N as saying.

This is the second deadly bus accident recorded in Peru since the beginning of this year. On Jan. 25, AT least 10 people were killed and 30 others injured when a passenger bus fell into a river in central Peru.