49 Korean Tourists Evacuated As Bus Catches Fire On I-10 [UPDATE]

CABAZON, CA — Multiple lanes of Interstate 10 in the Cabazon area were closed Thursday afternoon after a tour bus full of tourists headed to a shopping trip at the nearby outlet mall caught fire on the freeway, officials tell Patch. The incident was reported at 3:08 p.m. on the westbound side of the interstate, just west of Haugen Lehmann.

California Highway Patrol officials shut down the numbers three and four lanes of the freeway for several hours in the area following the ordeal and a sig alert was briefly issued.

When fire officials got to the scene, they say the rear portion of the bus was in flames. However, everyone on board had safely evacuated, according to Tawny Cabral of the Riverside County Fire Department. No injuries were reported.

CHP officials tell patch that 49 people were on the bus, all visiting from Korea and headed on a trip from Joshua Tree to the outlet centers located in Cabazon. The bus was brand new to the company, and this was its first trip out, the CHP said. It's unclear what year it was manufactured.

The tourists were all picked up by another bus around 5:45 p.m. It's not known if they were able to continue onto their shopping excursion.

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Images courtesy: Banning-Beaumont Patch reader