Shutterbug
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DALLAS (CNN) -- A bus carrying as many as 45 elderly evacuees from Houston exploded in flames Friday south of Dallas, and nearly half are feared dead.
Dallas County Sheriff's Sgt. Don Peritz said 14 to 15 people got off the bus and conceded as many as 20 others may have died.
The accident shut down part of the I-45, which was already backed up with other people evacuating ahead of Hurricane Rita.
Peritz said the blaze may have been started when a brake caught on fire.
Oxygen canisters carried by the elderly passengers are believed to have exploded in the fire, spreading the flames, Peritz said. (Updated, 8:53 a.m.)
Dallas County Sheriff's Sgt. Don Peritz said 14 to 15 people got off the bus and conceded as many as 20 others may have died.
The accident shut down part of the I-45, which was already backed up with other people evacuating ahead of Hurricane Rita.
Peritz said the blaze may have been started when a brake caught on fire.
Oxygen canisters carried by the elderly passengers are believed to have exploded in the fire, spreading the flames, Peritz said. (Updated, 8:53 a.m.)
