Kurnool Bus Fire LIVE Updates: Death toll mounts to 20 in Andhra bus tragedy; President Murmu condoles, wishes speedy recovery for injured

The two men shared the same name, Ramesh. They hailed from the same district in Andhra Pradesh and had been friends for 20 years. They eventually married and had two children each.

On Thursday night, both families boarded the V-Kaveri Travels bus going from Hyderabad to Bengaluru. Around 3 am, tragedy struck. The bus caught fire on the outskirts of Kurnool after a motorcycle collided with it, rupturing its fuel tank.

Nelakurthi Ramesh, 30, and his family managed to escape unhurt. But his friend and family did not make it out alive.

Golla Ramesh (31), his wife Anusha, 28, and their children — a son aged 8 and a daughter aged 6 — were among the 20 victims. Read

Andhra Pradesh on Friday morning woke up to the news of the Kurnool bus fire that killed at least 20 people. Visuals showed that the massive fire gutted the bus owned by Kaveri Travels. But what caused the sudden fire on the highway?

A preliminary probe, revealed an accident as the cause of the fire. Police and Kurnool district officials said a motorcycle first collided with the bus, which cracked open the fuel tank of the two wheeler. The resultant leakage and friction is believed to have been behind the fire. and that the fuel tank of the bus burst and caught fire, trapping the passengers onboard. Read Here

Many of the passengers aboard the bus that caught fire following an accident in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool narrowly escaped through smoke, fire and broken glass, and described the chaotic scenes that unfolded on the highway to Bengaluru at around 3 am on Friday.

Authorities said the bus caught fire after it got into an accident with a motorcycle. At least 19 passengers on the bus and the motorcycle rider died.

One of the survivors from the bus, Subramanian A, recalled that smoke quickly filled the bus. “The person next to me woke up and said there was smoke in the bus. I panicked and tried to hurry towards the front door, but it was closed,” he told The Indian Express.... Continue reading

For many passengers killed in a fire in the ill-fated private bus in this district on Friday, death struck without a warning.

Several passengers were fast asleep and died without even realizing what was happening when the Bengaluru-bound bus caught fire around 3 AM after an accident involving a motor bike, leaving 20 dead on the spot. Most victims were charred beyond recognition.

The blaze completely gutted the sleeper bus, reducing it to a metal skeleton.

There were some techies onboard when the accident happened and the survivors recalled the tense moments leading to their miraculous escape, even while suffering broken limbs and other minor injuries.

The private bus from Hyderabad to Bengaluru caught fire after colliding with a two-wheeler.

The Telangana government on Friday set up a helpline to assist the families of passengers of the Hyderabad to Bengaluru private bus, which was involved in an accident in Kurnool district of neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

The government, in a release, said that its officers M Sriramachandra (M 9912919545) and E Chittibabu (M 9440854433) can be contacted for help.

The helpline was set up following a directive by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who spoke to government Chief Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao and DGP Shivadhar Reddy.

The Chief Minister instructed IAS officer S Harish and also Collector and Superintendent of Police of Gadwal district of Telangana, neighbouring Kurnool district, to reach the accident site and coordinate relief measures.

The Congress on Friday demanded accountability after the loss of lives in a bus fire incident in Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool district, with Rahul Gandhi saying recurrent accidents like these raise serious questions about the safety of public transport systems.

A Bengaluru-bound private bus from Hyderabad caught fire in Kurnool district on Friday after colliding with a two-wheeler, leaving 12 people dead, a senior police official said.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the tragic incident that resulted in the loss of many precious lives is profoundly distressing.

"I extend my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families of all the passengers who lost their lives in this tragedy and wish a swift recovery to those injured," he said.

It is imperative to ensure accountability for these unfortunate recurring incidents, Kharge said.