‘Bodies charred beyond recognition’: 10 things to know about Bengaluru-bound bus fire which killed 20
A Bengaluru-bound bus caught fire after colliding with a two-wheeler, resulting in 20 fatalities, including two children. Many victims were asleep, and the bus was completely gutted.
A private bus headed to Bengaluru caught fire on Friday after it collided with a motorcycle. The blaze flared when the bike, which had its fuel cap open, was dragged beneath the bus, resulting in the deaths of 20 people, PTI reported.
Here are the top ten updates from the Kurnool bus accident:
1. According to police officials, most of the victims were burned beyond recognition. The fatalities included two children and the motorcyclist, while nine others sustained injuries, PTI report said.
2. A police official stated that a case has been filed against two drivers for alleged negligent and speeding behaviour. The Ulindakonda Police in Kurnool district registered the case following a complaint by one of the survivors, N. Ramesh. who, in his complaint, said that about 40 passengers were travelling in the V Kaveri Travels bus with registered number DD 01 N 9490. The Volvo bus is of a (2 1), Multi Axle Sleeper AC has a seating capacity of 42. It was from Hyderabad and proceeding towards Bengaluru. The complainant boarded the bus near LB Stadium in Hyderabad on the night of 23 October.
What did survivors say?
3. Survivors recounted tense moments ahead of their miraculous escape, albeit with injuries, while the not-so-lucky ones perished in their sleep. Passengers broke the window glass to escape to safety. The ill-fated bus was carrying 44 passengers at the time of the accident.
5. Several passengers were fast asleep and died without even realising what was happening when the vehicle caught fire around 3 AM. The blaze completely gutted the sleeper bus, reducing it to a metal skeleton. There were some techies on board when the accident happened. One of them was proceeding to Bengaluru to attend an interview in a top IT firm.
6. Some of the bodies were charred beyond recognition, prompting officials to call forensic teams to collect DNA samples of the deceased. “So far, 19 bodies have been retrieved from the charred bus. The biker's body is in the mortuary,” Kurnool Range DIG Koya Praveen told PTI.
7. According to officials, some of the materials used for making beds and curtains were flammable, which might have intensified the fire and caused it to spread quickly. As per CM Naidu's instructions, the government will provide ex gratia of ₹5 lakh to the kin of the deceased and ₹2 lakh to those who were injured.
8. Nine persons are undergoing treatment, including six with fractures, who are admitted to Kurnool Government General Hospital (GGH), while three are in a private facility, Anitha said. District Collector A Siri said those who escaped the accident are stable and out of danger, PTI reported.
9. PM Modi expressed grief over the loss of lives in the incident. "Extremely saddened by the loss of lives due to a mishap in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh," Modi said in a post on X. “An ex gratia of ₹2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given ₹50,000,” the PM said.
Meanwhile, it came to light that the ill-fated luxury bus had several challans imposed by the Telangana police for alleged traffic violations, including dangerous driving and unauthorised parking.
(With inputs from agencies)