A bus was set on fire after it arrived at a station in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, around 2:25 pm on Tuesday. A man identified by the driver as the one who started the blaze died in the incident, local police said.

The westbound No 13 bus caught fire at the station at the intersection of Beijing West and Dinggong roads, the city's public security bureau said.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze at 2:40 pm. Except for the arsonist, all the passengers and the driver survived, the police said.

Passengers reported that the man boarded the bus with a container emitting an irritating odor, the police said. The driver told the bus company that it was this man who started the fire, which severely damaged the bus.

The identity of the dead man was being sought, local police said.

To prevent and better handle fires and other violent behavior on buses, security officers have been assigned to bus routes in many Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai.

cuijia@chinadaily.com.cn