One person was killed and 19 others were injured after a public bus caught fire during rush hour in east China's Shandong Province on Wednesday.

A bus exploded in a ball of flames this morning in east China’s Shandong Province, killing a woman passenger and injuring 19 people. The fire broke out at 8:40am in Yantai City. A further investigation is underway.

The bus blaze in Longkou City broke out at around 8:30 a.m. and was extinguished half an hour later, according to the Longkou municipal government.

Police said the fire was an act of arson. Following a preliminary investigation, they believe the suspect to be a man around 50 years old. Police are searching for the suspect.

A woman in her 40s died on the spot. Four of the injured are in serious condition, and all the injured were sent to hospitals.

China has seen a string of bus arson cases in recent years.

In July, a 25-year-old suspect surnamed Ou in south China's Guangzhou Province set a bus on fire in anger after gambling losses, killing two and injuring 32. A 34-year-old man was accused of setting fire to a bus in east China's Hangzhou City, injuring 32 people.

On June 7 last year, a bus in the east China coastal city of Xiamen burst into flames, leaving 47 people dead and 34 others injured. Police later said suspect Chen Shuizong, who also died in the fire, committed arson with gasoline.

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