Four inmates killed in bus fire

ABU DHABI // Four prisoners died when a bus transporting them to the airport for a flight home caught fire. The prisoners, who were all from Asia, had finished their respective sentences and were being transported from Al Sadr Prison to Abu Dhabi International Airport yesterday. According to the WAM news agency, the rear wheel shaft disengaged and hit the fuel tank, which caused an explosion. Initial findings into the accident and eye witness reports said both the driver and a guard tried unsuccessfully to extinguish the flames and free the men. Both suffered burns as a result, although the severity is not known. Paramedics and firemen were called to the scene and the incident is still under investigation. Lt Gen Saif Abdullah al Shafaar, under secretary of the Interior Ministry, offered his condolences to the prisoners' families. They had been serving time for theft, covering up crime, illegal residence and absconding. *The National