Andhra Pradesh Bus Tragedy: Bike Collision and Jammed Door Turn Bengaluru-Hyderabad Ride into Deadly Inferno; Passengers Break Windows to Escape

The routine journey across the night got terribly wrong on Friday when the bus a private Kaveri Travels Company caught fire because of a collision with a motorcycle near Chinnatekur village in Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh. The burning bus took the lives of at least 20 passengers and left many more injured.

The sleeper coach which was running between Hyderabad and Bangalore and had more than 40 passengers onboard was totally burnt within a few minutes. At the same time, the many passengers who were trapped inside the vehicle managed to escape the fire only through the windows as the main door got jammed because of the impact. Counted among the survivors, they mentioned about their difficulty and horror of breaking the windows to get out of the quickly spreading fire.

🔥 The Chain of Events That Led to The Disaster

The initial inquiry concluded that the bus crashed into the bike coming from the opposite side, which resulted in the bike getting stuck under the bus. The impact coupled with friction resulted in a very large fire that soon engulfed the passenger cabin.

DIG Koya Praveen stated that the collision was the cause of the fire but the materials inside the air-conditioned bus made the situation worse turning it into an inferno in no time. He was saying that the fuel tank was not compromised but the bus had no fire safety system in place at all.

🚨 Death Toll and Rescue Operations

Kurnool District Collector Dr. A. Siri reported that 21 people have been accounted for so far, with 11 bodies identified and nine yet to be identified.

She pointed out that the main door got jammed when the fire broke out which made it impossible for the passengers to escape.

“Most victims were held hostage because the door didn't open. Only those who managed to break the side windows could escape,” Dr. Siri said.

At least 12 passengers managed to escape by breaking the window and jumping out, although many received serious burns. First responders and firefighters arrived on the scene to put out the fire and retrieve the bodies.

⚠️ The Bus was a Repeat Offender

The government said that the bus which met with an accident, Scania Bus with Reg. No. DD01N9490, operated by Vemuri Kaveri Travels and owned by Vemuri Vinod Kumar from Rayagada, Odisha, was violating the traffic rules frequently.

The bus had valid fitness and insurance certificates but still managed to rack up 16 challans in the state of Telangana alone, with a sum of ₹23,000 in unpaid fines. The luxurious bus was purchased in May 2018 and was first registered in Daman and Diu before being re-registered in Rayagada in April 2025.

🕯️ Recollections of a Similar Disaster in Rajasthan

The Kurnool bus accident happened just a few days after a bus fire in Rajasthan resulted in 22 deaths including three children as the bus caught fire near Thaiyat village on October 14. The reason of fire according to the investigations done there was a short circuit in the air-conditioning unit.

The two incidents spaced closely one after the other have reopened the debate about fire safety standards and regulation of private long-distance bus services across India.

⚡ Government Action and Inquiry

The Orissa state government under the leadership of Chandrababu Naidu has ordered a thorough investigation into the incident and has also directed that all private travel operators must comply with strict safety standards.

The authorities are also inquiring into the issue of whether the fire extinguishers and emergency exits on the bus were indeed working at the time and whether the operator's negligence resulted in the deaths.

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