Bengaluru-bound bus catches fire near Kurnool, 20 killed

Kurnool: In major business fire near Kurnool an estimated 20 passengers were charred to death following a collision with a bike while travelling between Hyderabad to Bengaluru on Friday.

The luxury bus caught fire when it hit a bike, sending shock waves across the country. The State Government announced an ex gratia of Rs5 lakh to the families of the dead and ordered an inquiry into the incident.

As the passengers were burnt beyond recognition, officials have started collecting DNA samples. A team from Karnataka also rushed to the accident spot, about 20 km from Kurnool. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, currently in Dubai, expressed deep concern over travel bus mishap near Kurnool in the early hours and directed the Ministers and officials to rush immediately to the spot and take up relief measures.

It may be noted that a private travels bus proceeding from Hyderabad to Bengaluru met with an accident and caught fire near Chinnatekuru village of Kallur mandal in Kurnool district resulting in death of several persons and injuries to others. The injured were rushed to Kurnool general hospital. The Chief Minister, immediately after receiving information, conducted a teleconference with Ministers and officials and asked them to rush immediately to accident spot. He talked to Ministers, Chief Secretary, DGP and Kurnool district collector and asked them take immediate measures to identify the bodies and to hand over them to their relatives. He ordered an inquiry on the incident.

Responding to Chief Minister’s directions, Minister for Transport M. Ramprasad Reddy, Minister for Home Vangalapudi Anita and Director General of Police Harish Kumar Gupta rushed to the spot.