Beijing: At least 30 people were killed and 21 others injured when a tourist bus burst into flames after crashing into the side of a road in central China today.

The accident happened in Hunan province when the bus carrying 56 people crashed into the guardrails on a highway.

The ensuing oil leak may have caused the fire, the county government said.

Twenty-one people have been hospitalised and rescuers are still searching the charred frame of the bus.

The police has detained the driver of the bus, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.