An oil leak from a diesel engine caused the coach fire which killed 16 people in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Wednesday, according to the local government.

"The oil caught fire due to the high temperature of the engine," said an official with the fire control department of Nanning City, regional capital of Guangxi.

However, the vehicle was not equipped with hammers which are used to break the windows and the manual door latch in emergencies, said the official, who declined to give his name.

"More passengers could have got out of the burning coach if the vehicle had had these safety facilities," said the official.

The coach was carrying 42 passengers from southwestern Sichuan Province to Guangxi, when it suddenly caught fire at the Hengxian County section of the expressway from Nanning. Sixteen passengers were killed and eight others were injured.

Those injured are all now in stable condition and most passengers have gone back home, according to the department.

(Xinhua News Agency March 4, 2006)