11 dead, nine missing as Hyderabad-Bengaluru bus catches fire in Andhra (Lead)

Kurnool, Oct 24 (IANS) Eleven passengers were charred to death and nine others are missing as a private bus caught fire after hitting a two-wheeler in Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool in the early hours of Friday.

The bus, belonging to a private travel operator, was heading to Bengaluru from Hyderabad and had 41 passengers, including two children, on board, officials said.

Nineteen passengers came out by breaking the windows of the Volvo bus of Vemuri Kaveri Travels. The accident occurred around 3.30 a.m. near Ullindakonda in Kurnool district, police said.

Kurnool District Collector A. Siri told media persons at the scene of the mishap that out of 41 people on board, they have traced 21. Eleven of these 21 were taken to hospitals in Kurnool.

“We are yet to trace 20. Of them, eleven bodies have been recovered. Nine passengers are yet to be traced,” she said.

The Collector said the injured were in stable condition.

The bus began its journey from Hyderabad around 10.30 p.m., and when it reached near Kurnool on National Highway 44 (NH-44), at around 3:30 am, a two-wheeler rammed into the bus. The motorbike got stuck under the belly of the bus, and this is suspected to have caused the spark.

Survivors said the two-wheeler was dragged by the bus for about 300 meters. Most of the passengers were asleep at the time of the accidents. One of the survivors said he woke up to the screams of fire, and he, along with some others, broke the windows to jump to safety.

Akash, one of the survivors, said the bus was engulfed in flames within minutes. Most of the passengers on board belong to Hyderabad.

By the time a fire engine rushed to the spot, the bus was completely gutted. Police swung into action to shift the injured to hospitals.

The Collector said they have to confirm if the bus hit the bike or the two-wheeler rammed into the bus, but the bike went under the bus, and due to the impact of the collision, the fuel leaked, and a skidding spark triggered the fire.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Koya Praveen said the fire started from the bike. “The fuel tank of the bus is intact. The fire started from the bike’s fuel tank. As the material under the bus was highly combustible, the fire spread rapidly,” he said.

The DIG said that out of two drivers, one was in their custody while the other was yet to be traced.

A team of officials, including a doctor, officials from police, fire services, revenue and other departments, were at the mishap site to pull out of the charred remains of the passengers. The DIG said DNA tests would be conducted to identify the bodies.

--IANS

ms/dpb