Two people were killed and fourteen injured when an airport shuttle bus in Changsha, capital city of central China's Hunan Province, caught fire Wednesday. [Xinhua]

A man who allegedly set an airport shuttle bus on fire has been detained by police in central China's Hunan Province Wednesday, said local police Thursday.

Chen Haitao, 36, allegedly set the bus on fire as it traveled from Huanghua International Airport at the provincial capital Changsha to the city proper at about 4 p.m. Wednesday, said a municipal police spokesman.

Chen was captured midnight Wednesday in Changsha and is now in police custody, he said.

The arson left two people dead, three seriously injured and 11 others slightly injured.

Chen, from Yiyang City, went to the airport from downtown Changsha by an airport shuttle bus Wednesday afternoon and returned by shuttle bus, which departed at around 3:45 p.m.

About 15 minutes after leaving he set his canvas bag full of flammable materials alight inside the bus.

Chen was injured and hospitalized, together with others in the bus. He was apprehended in hospital, said the spokesman.

One injured passenger, with up to 90 percent of his body burnt, was still in critical condition, said doctors.

Security has been beefed up at the airport with a security check required before boarding shuttle buses.

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