Twelve of those killed were aboard a bus that caught fire, said Bolivarian National Police Director Luis Fernandez. He said that the bodies were charred and could not immediately be identified. Fernandez warned that the number of injured could increase. The bus was carrying 32 passengers, and "it is supposed (that) 20 people survived the accident," he said. Firefighters took more than an hour to put out the river of flames, which spread for more than a kilometer (0.6 miles) along the busy road. The accident took place around 2:00 pm (1830 GMT) on a busy stretch of the Pan-American Highway that links Caracas with the satellite city of Los Teques, just outside the capital city, officials said.