Photo taken on Jan. 18, 2018 shows a burnt bus in northwest Kazakhstan's Aktobe Region. (Xinhua)

ASTANA, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- At least 52 Uzbek citizens were killed after a bus caught fire in northwest Kazakhstan on Thursday, said the Kazakh Interior Ministry.

The vehicle, a Hungarian-made Ikarus, was carrying 55 passengers and two drivers. Five people managed to escape the burning bus and have been hospitalized.

The incident happened at around 10:30 a.m. local time (0430 GMT) in the Aktobe region. The cause of the tragedy remains unclear.

A photograph provided by the Kazakh Interior Ministry showed that the bus had burnt.

A temporary emergency command center has been set up in the Aktobe region to deal with the aftermath of the deadliest accident in years.

The Uzbek government has demanded an investigation of the incident.