ROUGH CUT.

NO REPORTER NARRATION At least 20 people were killed and eight injured when the double-decker bus they were travelling in caught on fire in the Peruvian capital Lima on Sunday (March 31), a spokesman for the country's firefighters said.

Witnesses said the fire started in the bus's motor at the rear of the vehicle and quickly spread to its interior, according to the spokesman Lewis Mejia, in broadcast comments on local TV channel Canal N.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, he added.

Lima's Mayor Jorge Munoz said the bus burst into flames at a bus stop that authorities had banned just weeks ago because it was located next to an illegal shop that sells fuel.

Eight units of firefighters were deployed to put out the fire on the bus, which had been headed to the northern coastal city of Chiclayo, according to local broadcaster RIP.