Twenty people were killed and 12 injured in a bus accident in northern Germany yesterday evening in the most fatal German road accident recent years, local police said.

The travel coach burst into fire at about 8:45 pm on A2 autobahn near the northern German city of Hanover, possibly due to technical defect, police said. Only 12 passengers reportedly managed to escape from the burning vehicle.

German Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee said he was shocked by the news of the accident and called for a thorough investigation.

"If initial reports proved true that only a few passengers managed to flee from the burning bus, we must check whether safety regulations were adhered to, and whether they need to be tightened," Tiefensee said.