BEIJING — A long-distance coach bus taking tourists to Mao Zedong’s hometown in southern China erupted in flames, killing more than two dozen people onboard, according to official statements and news reports on Saturday.

The diesel-powered bus was going from Henan Province in central China to Hunan Province in the south, and the fire broke out near Changde, a city in Hunan, on Friday night, officials said in an account released through state-run news media. The flames swiftly consumed the bus, and at least 26 of the 56 people aboard died, apparently trapped by the flames.

Twenty-eight other people were injured and treated at three hospitals, including five who were said to be in serious condition.

Other details of the accident were unclear, and investigators were trying to determine the fire’s cause. One Chinese news website, Shangyou News, cited a survivor who said that the bus had been taking tourists to Shaoshan, the small city where Mao Zedong was born, and that the fire broke out at the back of the bus, quickly overcoming passengers who did not have time to jump out.