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Man held for attempted bus arson in Beijing

By Hou Lei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-08-04 13:51

A young man was detained Monday after he attempted to set fire to a bus in Beijing, the Beijing Times reported Tuesday.

Police carry out investigation at the scene of the incident after a man attempted to set fire to a bus in Haidian district of Beijing Monday, August 3, 2009. [Beijing Times]

Local police confirmed Monday evening that a 28-year-old man surnamed Duan deliberately ignited a bottle containing 500 milliliters of "Erguotou", a kind of popular white liquor in Beijing, when the bus No 373 he was travelling on was near the Shagou Lu crossroad in Beijing's Haidian district.

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Police said Duan, who is from north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, was immediately stopped by the bus driver and the fire was put out at once.

"No one was injured in the accident and a further investigation will be carried out," police said.

A witness told reporters that at about 12:00 am the No 373 bus suddenly stopped and all passengers immediately got off the bus. Three fire engines later arrived at the scene and several firefighters equipped with fire extinguishers boarded the bus to investigate the area.

"A passenger told me that a man in his twenties had a wine bottle in his left hand and tried to ignite the bottle with a lighter in his right hand. The bus driver saw his intentions and stopped the bus immediately, then he and several other passengers took the suspect under control," said the witness.

Police cordoned off the area after the accident. A large amount of gray dust is seen at the front door of the bus, according to the Beijing Times.

In a similar incident, a 62-year-old arsonist ignited a bucket full of gasoline on a bus in Chengdu city of Sichuan province on June 5, killing 28 people and injuring more than 70 others.