‘Bus turned into fireball within minutes’: 20 killed in Kurnool bus fire

The Andhra Pradesh government will form a high-level inquiry committee, comprising transport and police officials, to investigate the Kurnool bus accident and bring everyone responsible for the death of 20 people to book.

The State government has also announced 5 lakh ex gratia for the families of the deceased and 2 lakh for the injured.

In what is termed the second-biggest bus accident on the Hyderabad-Bangalore National Highway 44, as many as 20 passengers have been burnt to death, and several others have been injured after a private luxury sleeper bus (operated by V Kaveri Travels) allegedly collided with a motorbike and caught fire at Chinnatekuru village in Kurnool district in the wee hours of Friday.

Officials have traced 19 bodies so far

The private bus was ferrying around 43 passengers from Hyderabad to Bangalore when it caught fire around 3:00 to 3:15 am. As per the sources accessed by the YK TV Kurnool correspondent, the officials have managed to trace 19 bodies so far. Kurnool district Collector A Siri informed that 23 passengers and both the drivers were safe and urged the families of the passengers to reach out to the control room for all necessary information.

Speaking to the media, Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha informed that there were 45 people, including four children and two drivers, in the Vemuri Kaveri Travels sleeper bus (DDO 1N 9490) at the time of the mishap.

Two children and drivers among 27 survived

Among them, as many as 27 survived. Nine passengers sustained injuries and are currently receiving treatment. Officials learned that the impact jammed the main door, prompting the spare driver to break the rear windows of the sleeper coach to help passengers escape. This helped the passengers to escape, many of whom are either at the Kurnool Government General Hospital or a private hospital in the area.

There are two children among the dead. In total, as many as six deceased are from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana each, two each from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and one each from Bihar and Odisha. The Home Minister and Transport Minister revealed that authorities have registered a case and taken both drivers into police custody.

Two-wheeler may have met with accident already: Kurnool SP

Interestingly, Kurnool Superintendent of Police (SP) Vikrant Patil revealed that, based on information gathered from the drivers in custody, the two-wheeler was already on the road and may have either met with an accident earlier or fallen due to rain.

However, the police department will carry out a comprehensive investigation from all possible angles, including negligence by the driver and overspeeding, Anitha assured during the media briefing.

She also said that 16 AP FSL (Andhra Pradesh Forensic Science Laboratory) teams have been pressed into service to determine the identities of the charred bodies by collecting DNA samples. The other four teams will conduct physical and blast analysis, while the remaining two will do a chemical analysis to identify causes behind the ghastly incident,” the Home Minister announced.

On the occasion, Anitha expressed hope that the authorities would complete the identification of the bodies promptly, allowing the families to perform the final rites with dignity.

Speaking to media reporters at Kurnool Government General Hospital (GGH) in the morning, the Collector revealed that the leakage of fuel from the bike involved in the accident could be the cause, as the fire engulfed the entire bus within 5 minutes.

President, PM and CM express shock; Modi announces 2 lakh ex gratia

Extending support to the families, Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), said, “I am shocked to learn about the devastating bus fire accident near Chinna Tekur village in Kurnool district. My heartfelt condolences go out to the families of those who have lost their loved ones. Government authorities will extend all possible support to the injured and affected families.”

Transport Minister Mandipalli Ram Prasad Reddy rushed to the accident spot. He expressed his grief over the mishap and conveyed his deepest sympathies to the families of the deceased. He directed the local officials to provide the best possible treatment to the injured and carry out relief operations at the accident site.

Kurnool TDP MP Byreddy Shabari also visited the accident site and the Kurnool GGH. Speaking to the media, she expressed hope that officials would trace the remaining bodies within a few hours. Authorities confirmed that a family of four, including two children from Nellore district, died in the accident.

President Droupadi Murmu expressed her condolences. The Prime Minister expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives in the Kurnool district mishap in Andhra Pradesh. He extended his condolences to the affected families and wished a speedy recovery for the injured. He announced that the next of kin of each deceased would receive an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF), while the injured would be given ₹50,000. The Prime Minister shared this message through his official X handle.