(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-10-10 20:08

CHONGQING -- The families of 25 victims who died in an arson attack on a crowded bus in southwest China have got compensation from government and taken possession of the victims' remains.

All the bodies of the dead in the arson during the week-long National Day holiday season in Qijiang county, Chongqing City, were cremated, according to local sources.

Relatives of the dead were given caskets containing the ashes after the terms of compensation were agreed with local officials, while five of the 11 injured were discharged from hospital, according to the Qijiang County Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

However, Qijiang County Government officials declined to discuss the compensation for the killed and the injured for fear of causing "unrealistic" comparisons in future negotiations.

The coach carrying 38 people burst into flames around 5:15 pm on October 2 while passing through the Tongya village from Wansheng district to downtown Chongqing.

Twenty-seven people, including two suspected arsonists, died in the fire.

The 16 male and 11 female bodies have been identified: 24 as Chongqing locals; one as a resident of neighbouring Sichuan Province; and two from Jiangsu. DNA tests were used to identify 22 bodies.

Among the injured was coach driver Chen Jun who suffered burns and bruising to his right arm. He has been discharged from hospital.

Initial investigations suggest Xiao Yonghua, 50, a former deputy manager of the Wansheng branch of the company that owned the bus, and his wife, Zhang Xiaoya, 38, started the fire, in which they both died.

Zhang was alleged to have bought ten liters of gasoline the day before the tragedy, hid it in a wrapped plastic vessel in a big bag, dodged a safety check with her husband by boarding the bus outside the station, and sat at the front of the vehicle, right behind the driver.

Zhang poured out the gasoline and Xiao set it alight.

The couple allegedly left a letter, detailing their dissatisfaction with Xiao's suspension after Zhang's father, who had protested his redundancy from Chongqing Guanzhong No. 3 Public Transport Company in September.

Chen Jun, the coach driver, has been placed under police custody for letting passengers in without a security check.