A fire broke out suddenly early Saturday morning in an overcrowded bus on the expressway connecting Shanghai and Nanjing in east China, killing 12 people and injuring 14 others, local police said.

Preliminary investigation of the police showed 93 passengers were squeezed into the bus with designed accommodation of only 40 passengers.

Most passengers were migrant workers heading their home province of Henan to prepare for the traditional Chinese Lunar New Year.

Receiving a fire alarm at 5:43 a.m. Saturday, some 200 fire fighters and traffic police were mobilized to extinguish the fire and rescue the injured. A team headed by Vice Governor Li Quanlin of Jiangsu Province rushed to the scene to guide rescue work.

The bus driver has been held by local police for further investigation.

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