YINCHUAN - The identities of 17 victims have been confirmed in a bus fire caused by arson in Northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region, according to local authorities.

According to a list given to Xinhua on Friday, the victims were mostly young people, including ten whose ages were between 20 and 35. The oldest one was 58 years old.

Nine of the victims were women, and 14 of them were locals of Ningxia, according to the list.

The incident happened at around 7:08 am Tuesday in Helan county in the regional capital of Yinchuan, when a bus serving route 301 caught fire in front of a furniture store.

A total of 17 people were killed, according to the local police department.

Among the 33 injured, six are in serious condition, including a 59-year-old man suffering severe burns to 98 percent of his body, while the remainder have suffered moderate to minor burns, said the county government.

There were 32 people sent to the hospital after the incident. One who had minor injuries returned home and was added to the injured list on Tuesday night.

Police arrested arson suspect Ma Yongping in an under-construction building in Helan county at 4:30 pm Tuesday.