NANJING - Twenty-four people were killed and 19 others injured after fire engulfed a steel company's shuttle bus Sunday night in east China's Jiangsu Province, local government said Monday.

The sudden fire occurred at 11:16 p.m. inside a flyover tunnel in Wuxi city, killing 24 out of 45 on the bus at the scene. The workers are from Xuefeng Steel Company run by Jiangsu Shagang Group, China's largest private steel plant.

The 19 injured, including three suffering burns over more than 50 percent of their bodies, were being treated at hospital.

Zhang Zhengyu, deputy president of Wuxi No. 3 People's Hospital, said the injured were in stable condition after emergency medical treatment.

"According to our experience, the three most seriously injured still have a high chance of survival," said Zhang.

Anxious family members of the injured as well as reporters were blocked from entering the hospital ward.

The cause of the fire is under police investigation.