Image copyright AFP Image caption The Kazakh authorities said five people had escaped the blaze including the two drivers

A bus has caught fire in north-western Kazakhstan, killing 52 people, the interior ministry has said.

Five people managed to get out and were treated by rescue workers on the spot, reports said.

The accident happened at 10:30 local time on Thursday (04:30 GMT) in the Irgiz district of Aktobe region.

The bus is thought to have been carrying Uzbek citizens to or from Russia along the Samara-Shymkent route, said local media.

The route, which is about 2,200km (1,300 miles) long, is frequently used by Uzbek migrant labourers travelling to construction sites in Russia, observers say.

The emergency services ministry told AFP news agency that 55 passengers and two drivers had been aboard the bus.

"Five passengers received medical assistance. The remainder were killed," it said in a statement.

One of the drivers said the passengers were Uzbek nationals and the vehicle was registered in Kazakhstan, ministry official Ruslan Imankulov told AFP.

He said the blaze spread very quickly through the Setra bus.

It is unclear what caused the blaze.

Emergency officials have opened a telephone hotline for worried relatives.

A local journalist, Askar Aktileu, posted a picture of the burned-out wreckage on his Instagram page.</s>Astana: At least 52 people have been killed after a bus caught fire in a remote part of the central Asian nation of Kazakhstan.

The bus was travelling along a road in Kazakhstan's north-western Aktau region that links the Russian city of Samara to Shymkent, a city in southern Kazakhstan close to the Uzbek border, reported the Independent.

The route is widely used to transport Uzbek migrant workers to and from Russia.

The Kazakh emergencies department said in a statement that only five people managed to escape.

"Five people who managed to escape are receiving medical assistance," the statement said. "The remaining 52 people died on the spot."

The survivors included three Kazakhs and two Uzbeks, reported Al Jazeera.

The cause of the fire is yet not known.</s>A bus fire in north-western Kazakhstan has killed 52 Uzbek citizens on a route used by migrant workers heading to Russia, the Kazakh Interior Ministry has said.

The fire broke out near the village of Kalybai in the northern Aktobe region, the Emergencies Department of the former Soviet nation in Central Asia said.

Authorities said that only five of 57 people on the bus managed to escape the blaze.

They are being treated for injuries.

Preliminary information suggested all of the victims were citizens of neighbouring Uzbekistan, officials said.

The route is frequently used by migrant workers heading to Russia, where many work on building sites.

Of the survivors, two are citizens of Kazakhstan who were taking turns to drive the bus, and three others are from Uzbekistan.

The cause of the fire was not immediately clear, but investigators suspect it was triggered by a short circuit.

A photograph posted online showed the bus had been completely burnt out.

Video footage from the scene showed the bus in flames and emitting heavy black smoke.

It was positioned diagonally across a two-lane freeway in the middle of a snow-covered steppe.

Uzbekistan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement its embassy staff were en route to the area.

Last October, another Kazakh-operated bus carrying over 50 Uzbeks was hit by a train in Russia after getting stuck on the tracks, killing 17 people.</s>A bus caught fire in a remote part of Kazakhstan on Thursday, killing 52 citizens of neighbouring Uzbekistan, the Kazakh Interior Ministry said on Thursday.

The bus was travelling along a road in Kazakhstan’s north-western Aktau region that links the Russian city of Samara to Shymkent, a city in southern Kazakhstan close to the Uzbek border.

It was unclear in which direction the bus had been travelling, but the route is widely used to transport Uzbek migrant workers to and from Russia where they often take on work on building sites.

Only five people managed to escape the burning vehicle, the interior ministry’s emergencies department said in a statement.

The ministry said the apparent accident had happened at 1030 local time (0430 GMT), but provided no details about its cause.</s>A bus fire in northwestern Kazakhstan killed 52 Uzbek citizens on a route used by migrant workers heading to Russia, the Kazakh Interior Ministry said on Thursday. The bus was travelling along a road in the remote Aktobe region that links the Russian city of Samara to Shymkent, a city in southern Kazakhstan close to the Uzbek border.

 It was unclear in which direction the bus, a Hungarian-made Ikarus, had been travelling, but the route is widely used to transport Uzbek workers to and from Russia where they often take work on building sites.

Only five people managed to escape the burning vehicle, the interior ministry’s emergencies department said in a statement. The ministry said the apparent accident had happened at 10.30 a.m. (0430 GMT), but provided no details about its cause.

A photograph posted online from the site showed the bus completely burnt out. Video footage also posted on the Web showed it positioned diagonally across a two-lane freeway in the middle of a snow-covered steppe, in flames and emitting heavy black smoke.

Uzbekistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement its embassy staff were en route to the area, roughly midway between the Russian border and the Aral Sea.

Last October, another Kazakh-operated bus carrying over 50 Uzbeks was hit by a train in Russia after getting stuck on the tracks; 17 people died in that accident.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App</s>About 52 people were killed when a passenger bus in the west of Kazakhstan caught fire.

The incident took place at 10.30 am local time in the Irgiz district of Aktobe region, reported BBC. Five people managed to escape and they were treated on the spot. Rescue operations are on.

It has been reported that the bus was ferrying Uzbek passengers to or from Russia.

The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.</s>A bus fire in northwestern Kazakhstan killed 52 Uzbek citizens on a route used by migrant workers heading to Russia, the Kazakh Interior Ministry said on Thursday.

The bus was traveling along a road in the remote Aktobe region that links the Russian city of Samara to Shymkent, a city in southern Kazakhstan close to the Uzbek border.

The bus was traveling from southern Kazakhstan to Russia's Kazan, Kazakh officials said. The route is widely used to transport Uzbek workers to and from Russia where they often take work on building sites.

Only five people managed to escape the burning vehicle, the interior ministry's emergencies department said in a statement.

The ministry said the apparent accident had happened at 10.30 a.m. (0430 GMT), but provided no details about its cause. It said senior government officials would investigate the matter.

A photograph posted online from the site showed the bus completely burned out. Video footage also posted on the Web showed it positioned diagonally across a two-lane freeway in the middle of a snow-covered steppe, in flames and emitting heavy black smoke.

Uzbekistan's foreign ministry said in a statement its embassy staff were en route to the area, roughly midway between the Russian border and the Aral Sea.

Separately, Uzbekistan's Emergencies Ministry said it was sending a plane with its own team of doctors and rescuers to the site.

Last October, another Kazakh-operated bus carrying over 50 Uzbeks was hit by a train in Russia after getting stuck on the tracks; 17 people died in that accident.</s>A bus has caught fire in north-western Kazakhstan, killing 52 people, the interior ministry has said.

Five people managed to escape and were treated by rescue workers on the spot, reports said.

The accident happened at 10:30 local time on Thursday (04:30 GMT) in the Irgiz district of Aktobe region.

Local media say that the bus was believed to have been carrying Uzbek citizens to or from Russia along the Samara-Shymkent route.</s>Astana: In a tragic incident, 52 people were killed on Thursday when the bus they were travelling on caught fire in northwestern Kazakhstan, as per reports.

The bus was believed to be carrying Uzbek migrant workers to or from Russia along the 1,370-mile Samara-Shymkent highway.</s>Fifty-two Uzbek citizens have been killed in a bus fire in Kazakhstan.

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.

Only five people managed to escape, the Kazakh emergencies department said in a statement.

"Five people who managed to escape are receiving medical assistance," the statement said. "The remaining 52 people died on the spot."

The survivors included three Kazakhs and two Uzbeks, the Kazakh ministry for investments and development said in a post on Facebook. The bus did not have a license to transport passengers, the ministry said.

Citing Kazakh officials, Radio Free Europe said the passengers were migrant workers travelling to Russia.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev sent a message of condolence to Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev saying he shared "in the irreplaceable loss".

"I wish the wounded people a speedy recovery and a return to their families," he said, adding his country has set up a special commission to determine the cause of the fire.

Uzbekistan also sent officials to Aktobe to establish the cause of the accident, according to the Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency.

Vitaly Sinev, an official in Aktobe, told Kazakh news site BNews the fire may have been caused by a short circuit.
A bus carrying Uzbek migrant workers catches fire in Kazakhstan's Aktobe Region, killing 52 people. Five people escape and are treated by rescue workers.