Kurnool Bus Tragedy: Eyewitnesses Recount Horrific Incident That Killed 20

A bus fire in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, led to 20 fatalities as passengers struggled to escape. Eyewitnesses detail the horrifying incident and lack of safety measures.

Eyewitnesses who were travelling in the ill-fated Hyderabad-Bengaluru bus that caught fire on Friday have recounted the terrifying experience of waking up to find the bus engulfed in flames.

Speaking to ANI, Jayant Kushwaha described his disbelief upon realising the fire had broken out. Jayant and a few others tried to break emergency windows to escape as the doors were locked.

"Around 2:30-2:40 AM, the bus stopped, and I woke up and I saw that the bus caught fire. I couldn't believe that it was fire. I realised moments after that it was fire. Only two three people were awake. We yelled fire and woke everybody up. The doors were locked. We couldn't locate the drivers. We broke the emergency window as the main door was locked. We jumped out of the window. Many people jumped out of the bus by breaking the windows," the news agency quoted Jayant as saying.

Ashwin, another witness, stated that about 20 passengers managed to escape when he alerted the driver about a fire near his seat. "Last night, we boarded the bus at Kukatpally to travel to Bengaluru. I was seated behind the driver's seat. After a long journey, between 2:30 and 3:30 AM, I noticed a fire on the window side and immediately alerted the driver. The bus was stopped right away. Meanwhile, we tried to break the windows to escape. Around 20 people managed to get out of the bus, but the others were unable to escape," Ashwin told ANI.

The tragic incident occurred in Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool district when a private bus carrying 41 passengers caught fire after colliding with a bike trapped underneath it. Officials confirmed at least 20 fatalities from this accident on Friday morning.

Details of Fatal Accident

Kurnool District Collector A Siri reported that 11 bodies have been identified while nine remain unaccounted for following this early morning tragedy between 3:00 AM and 3:10 AM on Friday.

"There are a total of 41 members in the bus, including two drivers. A bike got stuck under the bus. After the accident, petrol leaked from the bike and caught fire. Of the 41 members, we have traced 21 passengers; they are safe. 11 dead bodies have been removed from the bus. 21 members have minor injuries and are undergoing treatment. We have to confirm about the remaining 9 bodies," DC Siri said.

Investigation into Safety Measures

A fire official highlighted that there were no safety hammers available for breaking glass during emergencies like this one involving petrol leakage from an impacted motorcycle causing ignition without diesel tank involvement yet resulting in complete damage nonetheless.

"The bus collided with a bike, dragged it and caused the bike's petrol to leak, which led to a fire. There were no safety hammers to break glass after the fire accident. The bus driver didn't stop after collision with bike; however its diesel tank didn't catch flame though entire vehicle got destroyed," explained an official investigating matter further.