Police: Bus carrying Rita evacuees explodes near Dallas.

[warrior1]

Headline on MSNBC...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9449949/

DALLAS - A bus filled with Hurricane Rita evacuees caught fire early Friday on gridlocked Interstate 45, killing at least one person and injuring others, police reported.

[Junkdrawer]

1. ???? explodes ?????

:shrug:

[halobeam]

They reported oxygen tanks on the bus that they suspect may

have been the cause. It's all speculation for the moment.

[malaise]

2. This is chaos

Three people also died in their cars. They're making Nagin look efficient.

http://www.khou.com/

BREAKING NEWS: Fire has destroyed a passenger bus carrying evacuees on I-45 near Dallas. At least one person is dead and about a dozen others are being treated for injuries. Fire officials say an explosion preceded the fire.
Edit -add link, snip.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

3. I don't see anything on it at the link you have???

On edit: If it were a snake... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9449949/

[halobeam]

6. I don't know about the link above, but I just heard it on CNN too.

[warrior1]

4. CNN headline

Bus carrying Hurricane Rita evacuees catches fire on gridlocked Interstate 45 near Dallas, killing one, injuring others, according to witness. Details soon.

www.cnn.com

[REP]

5. Bus With Rita Evacuees Catches Fire Near Dallas

DALLAS - A bus filled with Hurricane Rita evacuees caught fire early Friday on gridlocked Interstate 45, killing at least one person and injuring others.


Aerial images show emergency crews examining people near the bus, which was fully engulfed in flames.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9449949/

[Scurrilous]

7. Dupe

[amber dog democrat]

8. could not find it.

Maybe its buried in the web page.

[REP]

9. No - It's in the Banner; Says BREAKING NEWS

[malaise]

10. They're discussing the accident on

http://www.khou.com/

Elderly people - oxygen tanks exploded. They're not sure how many people died since they're conflicting numbers.

[wellstone dem]

11. picture on MSNBC

and I started to cry.

[JNelson6563]

12. It's on TV right now

totally burned up. Truly horrible.

[warrior1]

13. That's surreal

with imus talkin and laughing with the insert picture of a burned out bus. Truly sick.

[wellstone dem]

14. no kidding

it's on cnn now.

[wellstone dem]

15. and soledad

says "adding insult to injury" instead of "injury to insult"

[RebelOne]

21. insult to injury is correct

[wellstone dem]

24. I know but this is hardly just an insult nt

[malaise]

32. Imus laughing is offensive

I could not believe it.

[malaise]

17. 20 dead according to KHOU

they quote the Sheriff's department. Live coverage on now.
This is so sad. The elderly again. I can't take much more of this.

[bill]

16. 20 dead from the bus fire

according to KHOU

[warrior1]

18. Oh my

[chalky]

20. And the hurricane hasn't even hit land yet....

n/t

[DeepModem Mom]

19. I think they're saying these are elderly folks. What horror. nt

[UpInArms]

22. related: 20 dead in bus fire along Rita evacuation route

:cry: :cry: :cry:

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-09-23T124044Z_01_N23626370_RTRIDST_0_RITA-BUS-URGENT.XML

HOUSTON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - A bus burst into flames outside Dallas on Friday, killing 20 people and closing a primary evacuation route for Hurricane Rita, local television WFAA reported.

"It burst into flames with black smoke coming from the bus, and then we saw the fire," witness Ashley Donald told Houston television station KTRK.

...short blurb...

:cry:

[tanyev]

23. And this is going to make the gridlock on I-45 even worse.

Awful, just awful.

[Greylyn58]

25. CNN just reported that they have confirmed 20 dead

now in this bus explosion. Said the bus was carrying elderly patients and they believe that oxygen used by some of them is in part what caused and fed the explosion.

This is just horrifying!! :cry:


Fear. It's the oldest tool of power. If you're distracted by fear of those around you, it keeps you from seeing the actions of those above.
--Fox Mulder--

[warrior1]

26. local and cable

channels barely covering this. We've moved to where that's not shocking/breaking news on these channels? Twenty american's just lost their lives that didn't need too and again the media is asleep at the wheel...

[Zynx]

28. That's more than usually would die in a hurricane due to winds and water.

Normally hurricanes don't kill any more than a dozen people or thereabouts.

[Hissyspit]

27. link - described as 'bus blaze'

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9449949/

Many believed dead in evacuee bus blaze
Dallas TV station says 20 perished in fire along Interstate 45
NBC, MSNBC and news services
Updated: 8:47 a.m. ET Sept. 23, 2005
DALLAS - A bus filled with 45 elderly Hurricane Rita evacuees from the Houston area caught fire early Friday on gridlocked Interstate 45, leaving an undetermined number of deaths and injuries.

"There were 45 souls on the bus ... at this point we believe we have about half accounted for," Dallas County Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Don Peritz. He said early indications were that a mechanical problem caused the blaze and that passengers' oxygen tanks caught fire.

Separately, the local WFAA TV station reported that 20 evacuees were killed in the tragedy.

The bus was engulfed with flames, causing a 17-mile backup on a freeway that was already heavily congested with evacuees from the Gulf Coast.

[Ben Ceremos]

42. This story states...

that there were "souls" on the bus...so no people were killed, only fake metaphysical constructs...sheesh I get sick of this crap. People, elderly people, made of flesh, blood and bone died after being placed in a dangerous transport situation. "Bring it on..." only problem is you seem to be bringing it on yourselves.

[Igel]

45. Metonymy.

Eurydipes had a grip on it, and assumed commoners also did. Apparently we've gone a long ways in 2400 years.

Or, if you don't like the metaphysical construct's being reified, view the expression as metaphor.

[daleo]

50. One definition of "souls" is just lives.

But, I agree that it can be seen as injecting Christian terminology into a discussion where it is unwarranted.

[underpants]

29. TWENTY EVACUEES DEAD IN BUS FIRE (minutes ago) other source-1 dead

http://www.waow.com/news/full_story.php?id=38375

THE ABC T.V. STATION IN DALLAS REPORTS 20 PEOPLE ON A BUS LOADED WITH HURRICANE RITA EVACUEES DIED AFTER THE BUS ERUPTED IN FLAMES.

A DALLAS COUNTY SHERIFF'S SPOKESMAN SAYS 45 PEOPLE WERE ON THE BUS AND ``ABOUT HALF'' ARE ACCOUNTED FOR. THE OFFICIAL SAYS THERE ARE INDICATIONS OXYGEN USED BY ELDERLY EVACUEES MAY HAVE BEEN A FACTOR.

NOW being reported as ONE DEAD
One dead as fire destroys evacuee bus

http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/?feed=TopNews&article=UPI-1-20050923-08282200-bc-us-rita-bus-crn.xml

[fudge stripe cookays]

30. Ohmigod.

You keep thinking things can't get any worse.

Not only are these people in a bad way, but think of all the traffic piling up behind them on the freeway that can't get into Dallas.

Those poor people.
FSC

[tanyev]

31. One confirmed dead - but only half the passengers made it off.

[Ben Ceremos]

43. No wonder

the Iraq body count is so "low"...liars.

[underpants]

33. Kick for warriors thread

[warrior1]

36. your sweet underpants

XO

[Cassandra]

34. This was what Mayor Nagin was concerned about...

when he consulted lawyers about the city's legal liabilities if they called for a mandatory evacuation order. That's why he waited too long and avoided using old, non-airconditioned buses that would have been sitting in traffic for many hours and might have been stuck in the storm.

[npincus]

35. Rita's First Casualties

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/09/23/D8CPV5MG0.html

Bus Carrying Evacuees Catches Fire; 1 Dead
Sep 23 8:19 AM US/Eastern

DALLAS

A bus filled with Hurricane Rita evacuees caught fire early Friday on gridlocked Interstate 45, killing at least one person and injuring others, a television station reported.

The bus was engulfed with flames, causing a 17-mile backup on a freeway that was already heavily congested with evacuees from the Gulf Coast. Dallas television station WFAA reported one person was killed and 12 were injured.

[Bucky]

37. NTSB has OK'd moving the bus & fatality scene off the road (Gridlocked)

TV's saying the bus is burned to a crisp, at least twenty dead.

[Silverhair]

38. I saw it just a couple of minutes after it happened.

I was taking my wife in to work in Dallas at about 6:05 AM. We saw traffic begin to stop at the Marsh Lane overpass. Traffic had been moderate to light at the time. Thinking it was a routine accident, and not wanting to get involved in the traffic tie-up I took the exit onto the access road. There were only a few cars on the access road. Then we saw that it was a bus on fire. Some police, about two or three cars were already there, and were dragging people off the bus. The flames were coming from the area of the baggage compartment close to the rear wheels and were unually bright for a diesel fire. I could feel the heat from the flames on my face from about 20 to 30 feet away. Flames were reaching about twice the bus heigth. Several people were being carried off the bus. Someone was breaking a window to try to get people out. The smoke was very thick.

I didn't see any more as at that moment we were pass the bus and I had to pay attention to driving.

On the way back I-45 was blocked and backed up for miles.

I also noticed a sign that said that I-45 south was closed at Ennis, TX, so I think they have made it contraflow all the way to almost Dallas.

[warrior1]

39. It's up to 24 nt.

[rainbow4321]

41. The survivors have been taken to Parkland and Baylor

Parkland has the best trauma center in the southwest..it even has an ICU specifically for burn victims. If anyone *can* save them, it's Parkland Hospital.

[ChickMagic]

44. Careflights have been buzzing here at Parkland

All sorts of medivacs actually. :cry:

[UpInArms]

48. link: 24 die in bus fire as Rita roars toward Texas (graphic)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002515871_webrita23.html


An emergency crew investigates the scene where a bus caught fire and exploded on northbound Interstate 45 near Dallas. The bus carrying elderly Hurricane Rita evacuees caught fire and was rocked by explosions early Friday.

HOUSTON – Hurricane Rita roared with its 140 mph winds toward a night-time landfall on the Texas and Louisiana coasts today. The continuing exodus of hundreds of thousands from the storm's path turned deadly for a busload of elderly evacuess when the vehicle caught fire and was wracked by explosions on a gridlocked highway. An estimated 24 persons were killed.

<snip>

"Deputies were unable to get everyone off the bus," Dallas County Sheriff's Department spokesman Don Peritz said. He said he believes 24 people were killed, but that number could change.

The bus, with about 45 people on board, had been traveling since Thursday. Peritz declined to give details on who the passengers were except to say they were from a nursing home in Bellaire, an upscale enclave within Houston.

Early indications were that it caught fire because of mechanical problems, then passengers' oxygen tanks started exploding, Peritz said. He said the brakes may have been on fire.

...more...

:cry:

[sonias]

40. Rest in peace, fellow Texans

Worst news you could get. Elderly evacuees of a senior citizens home from Bellaire Some were mobility impaired. It was an instant fire trap. I am so sorry for them and their families.
:cry:

Sonia

[flamingyouth]

46. What a horrible story.

:cry:

[KansDem]

47. photo

An emergency crew investigates the scene where a bus caught fire and exploded on northbound Interstate 45 near Dallas. The bus carrying elderly Hurricane Rita evacuees caught fire and was rocked by explosions early Friday.

on edit: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002515871_webrita23.html

[Rose Siding]

49. CNN rpt says driver and deptuties assisted- wouldn't they have been

accompanied by other attendants or aides?

Video rpt linked in this article
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/09/23/rita/index.html

The burned bus was from a "managed care facility or a nursing home facility" in Bel Air, TX, according to the law enforcement official being interviewed in this report.

This picture isn't from that area, and these people aren't ambulatory, but even if they were, they look like they'd benefit from some fit travel companions, whether for emergencies, or just for general assistance.



Vulnerable
A line of elderly wheelchair-bound citizens from the Edgewater Retirement Community in Galveston, Texas, wait to board a bus to evacuate the city in preparation for Hurricane Rita

Are people who live in a "managed care facility or a nursing home facility" more physically able than those in a "Retirement Community" like this one?

(That's a real question, if anyone knows) What a horrid situation :cry:

[Dulcinea]

51. It depends.

Some retirement communities are only for people who can get around by themselves, & some are basically nursing care facilities.

What an awful story.

[DearAbby]

52. My God....2005 the year of Death.

My heart aches so much, I dont know how much more we can take. The year of Death and destruction. :cry:

[mom cat]

53. So much for using old busses for evac....

[malaise]

54. The worst part of this story is that MSM

has virtually dropped it like those poor old people are just nothing.
How the old and young are treated in any society is a window to the soul of that society.

[cloudythescribbler]

55. Rita Update -- 24 Killed when bus catches fire in TX, etc --AP

As Rita approaches landfall on the coastline from Port Arthur TX to Lake Charles LA, right near the stateline, millions have fled the region, including a bus with 24 passengers (many wearing oxygen tanks) that caught fire on the highway in TX.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/23/AR2005092301437.htm

Updated: 09:51 PM EDT

STORM CHURNS TOWARDS TEXAS-LOUISIANA COAST
By TIM WHITMIRE, AP

BEAUMONT, Texas (Sept. 23) - Hurricane Rita steamed toward refinery towns along the Texas-Louisiana coast with 120 mph winds Friday, creating havoc even before it arrived: Levee breaks caused new flooding in New Orleans, and as many as 24 people were killed when a bus carrying nursing-home evacuees caught fire in a traffic jam.

Rita weakened during the day into a Category 3 hurricane after raging as a Category 5, 175-mph monster earlier in the week. But it was still a highly dangerous storm.

The hurricane was expected to come ashore early Saturday on a course that could spare Houston and Galveston but slam the oil refining towns of Beaumont and Port Arthur, Texas, and Lake Charles, La., with a 20-foot storm surge, towering waves and up to 25 inches of rain.

"That's where people are going to die," said Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center. "All these areas are just going to get absolutely clobbered by the storm surge."

Late Friday, southwestern Louisiana was soaked by driving rain and coastal flooding. Sugarcane fields, ranches and marshlands were already under water at dusk in coastal Cameron Parish.

The sparsely populated region was almost completely evacuated ... <snip>

Steve Rinard, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Lake Charles, said he could not keep count of the tornado warnings across southern Louisiana. "They were just popping up like firecrackers," he said.

Rita threatened dozens of shuttered refineries and chemical plants along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast that represent a quarter of the nation's oil refining capacity. Environmentalists warned of the risk of a toxic spill, and business analysts said Rita could cause already-high gasoline prices to rise to as much as $4 a gallon.

In the storm's cross-hairs were the marshy towns along the Louisiana line: Port Arthur, a city of about 58,000 where the main industries include oil, shrimping and crawfishing; and Beaumont, a port city of about 114,000 that was the birthplace of the modern oil industry. <snip>



In New Orleans, which had just drained nearly all the putrid floodwaters from Katrina, Rita's wind and rain sent water gushing through a patched levee along the Industrial Canal and into the already-devastated Lower Ninth Ward and parts of neighboring St. Bernard Parish. The water rose to waist level.

About the same time, water streamed through another levee along the patched London Avenue Canal, swamping homes in the Gentilly neighborhood with 6 to 8 inches of water.
<snip>

At 8 p.m. EDT, Rita was centered about 85 miles southeast of Sabine Pass along the coast at the Texas-Louisiana border, moving northwest at near 13 mph, and forecasters said it could weaken further become coming ashore.
<snip>
In southwestern Louisiana, which was on the vulnerable east side of Rita and expected to get the brunt of a 20-foot storm surge, water was already lapping over roads in coastal Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes by midday. <snip>

<snip>
Because of the approaching storm, authorities called off the search for bodies from Katrina, and the death toll across the Gulf Coast stood at 1,079, including 841 in Louisiana.

With Katrina's missteps in mind, the federal response for Rita included the placing of disaster response teams in Houston, helicopters in Florida and a fleet of C-5 transport planes in San Antonio for evacuation duty. Five Navy ships, including two amphibious vessels with 800 Marines, were in the gulf awaiting orders.

Associated Press Writer Brett Martel contributed to this report from Lake Charles, La.

09/23/05 21:47 EDT
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.