posted September 23, 2005 11:53 AM              

Sept. 23 (Bloomberg) -- A bus evacuating 45 people from a Houston-area Sunrise Senior Living Inc. facility caught fire this morning near Dallas. Two dozen people died, the National Transportation Safety Board said.

The charter bus was evacuating 38 residents and six workers from Brighton Gardens of Bellaire, a nursing home about six miles (10 kilometers) southwest of Houston operated by McLean, Virginia-based Sunrise Senior Living, the company said in a statement.

The bus was destroyed by fire on Interstate 45 in Wilmer, Texas, about 14 miles south-southeast of Dallas. There may have been multiple explosions on the bus after it caught on fire, fueled by oxygen tanks used by some passengers, WFAA-TV said.

``Sunrise has been devastated by this tragedy,'' Sunrise Chief Executive Officer Paul Klaassen said in a statement faxed to Bloomberg News. ``Our hearts go out to the families and friends of the residents involved in this unfortunate incident.''
The incident happened at about 6:45 a.m. local time, Sunrise said in the statement. The company was contacting family members this morning to inform them of the accident and is working with authorities to determine what caused the fire.

Dallas County Sheriff's Department spokesman Don Peritz didn't return multiple telephone messages left by Bloomberg News seeking further comment.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Chris Dolmetsch in New York at cdolmetsch@
Last Updated: September 23, 2005 11:06 EDT
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aXSXCBJPFwps&refer=us

posted September 23, 2005 11:56 AM              

Elderly people in New Orleans nursing homes died - waiting for help.....

These people were getting help....and died anyway...