Forty-five people were injured while trying to escape from a trolley bus that was engulfed in fire Tuesday in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, police and witnesses said on Wednesday.

Most of the victims suffered sprains and bruises after jumping off the bus windows, and three of them were seriously injured, said a traffic police officer.

All the injured passengers were treated at the No. 4 hospital in Xi'an and one of them was hospitalized, he said.

Hospital sources said Han Fenghui, 52, needed further treatment for his injuries on the head, chest and limbs.

Han said the fully loaded bus, in service on route No. 102, caught fire at around 9:00 AM Tuesday on Dachashi Street, close to the city's downtown railway station. "The panic-stricken passengers smashed the windowpanes to escape."

Some passengers used the fire extinguishers on the bus to put out the flames.

A repairman said the fire started in the gearbox. Investigation is going on.

(Xinhua News Agency September 5, 2007)