The fire broke out at 23.30 on January 9 when the bus was travelling from HCM City to Bac Ninh province, about 70km from Hanoi.

It took firefighters from Thua Thien-Hue province more than an hour to bring the roaring fire under control. The bus driver survived the incident.

All the passengers’ belongings including goods, luggage, four motorcycles and a bicycle were burned. Many passengers cried out that they had no money left to return to their homes for the traditional Lunar New Year festival (Tet).

Ho Thanh Tam, head of the Phong Dien Police, said the fire might have been caused by a short circuit.

Nguyen Van Sy, a survivor, said that he heard the crackling under the bus when it was traveling across Hai Van tunnel, but the incident was not dealt with properly.