A horrifying incident took place in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district, where a private bus going from Hyderabad to Bengaluru caught fire, killing 20 people on board. The bus operator has been identified as a private firm named Kaveri Travels. The incident unfolded in the early morning, at about 3 am, when the bus was hit by a two-wheeler, which, as per the police, went under the bus, hitting the fuel tank, which led to a rapid fire.
Soon, the bus was trapped in flames. At the time of the incident, most of the passengers were asleep, leaving no time to escape. The tragedy has caused at least 20 casualties, while around 21 people have managed to escape, which also includes the two drivers. The District Collector of Kurnool, A Siri, told PTI that 21 people have survived and 20 were dead. He confirmed that out of the dead, 11 bodies have been identified, while the rest are under the process of identification.
The Prime Minister, who was in Bihar during the incident, expressed condolences to the victims, and also announced monetary compensations of 2 lakh each to the kin of the dead, and 50,000 to the injured survivors. The President of India, Draupadi Murmu, also extended her condolences via a post on her social media handle.
The accident occurred on National Highway 44, and the investigation into the actual cause is still ongoing. With multiple theories cropping up after various evidence has been put forth by the agencies. While the State’s Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha said that the collision of an “oncoming bike” caused the accident, the state police differ on the matter. The police suspect that the bike was already hit by an unidentified vehicle, and the bus collided with the bike after the bike had already stationary and was lying on the road.
Although no conclusions can be drawn right now, the police authorities are surveying the area, and also looking into video footage to get a clear idea of the accident, as to whether it was the fault of the bike rider, or the bus drivers, as is being widely debated. A team of firefighters, police officials, and forensic experts, are examining the details but the complexity of the accident might take more time to solve the case.
