Fifty-two people were killed Thursday morning after a bus they were travelling in caught fire in Kazakhstan's north-western Aktobe. Only five passengers managed to escape the burning vehicle, the Kazakh Interior Ministry said in a statement.
The accident reportedly happened at 10:30 local time in the Irgiz district of Aktobe region.
Kazakh media reports say the bus is thought to have been carrying Uzbek citizens to or from Russia along the Samara-Shymkent route.
The route, which is about 2,200 kilometers long, is frequently used by Uzbek labor migrants travelling to the Russian for seasonal work.
55 passengers and two drivers had reportedly been aboard the bus. Only five passengers managed to escape the burning bus.
Emergency officials have opened a telephone hotline for worried relatives.
