London, Aug 4 - A group of Sikh women and children who escaped a burning bus on a British highway last week were subjected to racist abuse by passing motorists, the BBC reported.

Sixty-six women and children who worship at a gurdwara in the town of Luton were returning from a day out on the beaches of Weymouth in southern England Friday when their coach caught fire on a highway.

Helped by an off-duty policeman, all the passengers were evacuated to safety minutes before the double-decker coach exploded in a fireball, melting the tarmac, eyewitnesses said.

'It all happened in seconds. As we were backing away from the coach there was an explosion, and then another one. It was horrific. The whole thing went up in seconds,' said one of the women in the coach, Inderjeet Buar.

She said it was amazing that no one was injured in the incident, which took place in the evening.

'We had organised a summer camp at our temple in Luton which was attended by many children.