Twenty live pigs were burned to death in a fire caused by a car crash in Beijing.

A yellow KIA car run into the rear of a truck loaded with pigs on a highway Tuesday afternoon, causing a fire and ensuing death of 20 pigs.

"Just two minutes, the KIA blew out into a fireball and enkindled the rear of my truck. The pigs yelled but had no time or way to escape," said the truck driver surnamed Zhang.

The fire was too fierce for him to save the pigs, added Zhang.

The pigs tried to save themselves by struggling to break the cage. One pig succeeded, as it tore apart the net, jumped out the cage and run on the highway.

The fire was put out ten minutes later after the firefighter came. But it was too late for the pigs to survive.

A child in the car was injured in the crash.

The police closed the accident section of the highway for two hours before a crane took away the car and truck.

(Xinhua News Agency December 20, 2006)