A tour bus with Chinese tourists onboard erupted in flames following an accident on a busy highway in Taiwan, killing all 26 people travelling in the vehicle, according to officials.

The incident occurred on the National Highway No. 2 in the Taoyuan county, located south of Taipei, as the bus was on the way to Taiwan's international airport, according to Reuters.

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According to local reports, the vehicle lost control and crashed into a highway barrier before being engulfed in fire. The cause of the blaze remains to be known. However, some say the vehicle burst into flames before hitting the barrier.

No one was able to escape the burning bus and many of the bodies had been badly charred in the fire.

"All the people on the bus died," said an official from the National Fire Agency. "At this stage it is still not clear why no passengers escaped from the bus. Prosecutors and police are investigating the cause of the accident."

 24 out of the 26 people on board belonged to the Chinese city of Dalian and were scheduled to catch a flight back to China on Tuesday afternoon after a weeklong stay on the island. The two others onboard the bus included the driver and a tour guide, who were both Taiwanese nationals, The Guardian reported.

Photos from the accident spot show thick plumes of smoke emerging out of the front side of the bus. 13 firefighting vehicles and 30 firefighters were dispatched to the scene but the fire raged out of control and could not be extinguished.

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BREAKING: Tour bus catches fire near Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, cause unknown, casualties confirmed pic.twitter.com/OoED0zwmTM

— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) July 19, 2016

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TagsTaiwan bus crash, Taiwan bus fire, Taiwan, Taipei, Chinese Tourists