AFP, BEIJING: Police in China have captured a man suspected of starting a fire on a public bus that killed 17 people and injured 32 on Tuesday, state media said.
Authorities cornered Ma Yongping at a construction site after flames engulfed the vehicle in Yinchuan, the capital of the remote Ningxia region, according to a post on a verified social media account of state broadcaster CCTV.
Images posted online showed the bus engulfed in flames and a short video of police in yellow rain jackets gathering around the smoking and charred remains. The city’s mayor told a press conference the local public security bureau was collecting DNA samples to identify the dead, according to an official social media account for the city.
CCTV posted a list of the names of 32 injured ranging in age from 20 to 65, adding that eight had suffered serious injuries. Authorities did not give any indication of a motive.
Unverified pictures on social media Tuesday showed what appeared to be the Yinchuan suspect perched on top of a half-finished building, as though preparing to jump.