Karnataka sends team to Kurnool after bus fire kills 20 on Hyderabad–Bengaluru route

The team will assist in supporting victims from Karnataka and coordinate with local authorities as investigations continue.

The Karnataka Transport Department has deputed a two-member team to Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh to assess the bus fire tragedy that claimed around 20 lives early Friday morning.

A private bus from Hyderabad-Bengaluru after it caught fire following a collision with a two-wheeler, near Chinnatekur in Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh, Friday.(PTI)

The team, sent on the directions of Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, will coordinate with local transport authorities and assist in identifying and supporting any possible victims from Karnataka, Deccan Herald reported.

“We’ve sent officials who are fluent in Telugu, as it will help them navigate the situation. We’re not yet aware if there were any Bengaluru residents on board. A clearer picture will emerge once the team reaches Kurnool,” a senior transport department official told Deccan Herald.

The Bengaluru-bound private bus from Hyderabad caught fire after colliding with a motorcycle approaching from the opposite direction on National Highway 44 in Kurnool district. The impact reportedly ruptured the bus’s fuel tank, triggering an explosion that engulfed the vehicle in flames.

A forensic team was deployed to the site near Chinnatekur in Kallur mandal soon after the incident to collect evidence and reconstruct the sequence of events. Experts are examining the wreckage to determine the exact cause of the fire.

According to Kurnool District Collector A. Siri, the ill-fated bus was carrying 41 passengers, including two drivers. “So far, 21 passengers have been traced and are safe. Eleven bodies have been recovered from the bus. Twenty-one passengers sustained minor injuries and are undergoing treatment. We are yet to confirm details about the remaining nine,” the collector said.

She added that the bus doors failed to open after the crash, trapping several passengers inside, though both drivers managed to escape.

Most passengers, who had boarded the bus in Hyderabad, were asleep at the time of the collision. One survivor, Jayant, said he woke up around 2:30 am to find the vehicle filling with smoke and fire. “We were trapped inside as the doors wouldn’t open. Some of us broke the emergency exit windows and managed to get out,” he recalled.

(With agency inputs)