Ramesh and Ramesh — two friends on board Kurnool bus, only one survived

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.

“We had been friends since 2005, we met in Bengaluru. He was a year older to me,” a tearful Nelakurthi Ramesh told The Indian Express.

“We worked as salespersons for Hindustan Unilever. Last week, we visited our relatives in Nellore and then went to my sister’s house in L B Nagar in Hyderabad to spend a couple of days at her home.”

He said they started for Bengaluru last night. “Golla Ramesh and his family were on the upper berths. My family and I were sleeping below. Suddenly, I woke up and saw flames licking the sides of the bus. I shook my wife and children awake and made them jump out of a window. I woke up [Golla] Ramesh too but it was too late… the entire bus was engulfed in flames… they could not even get down from the berths… I somehow managed to jump out,” he said.

“My family and I survived, but my best friend and his family did not. I don’t know what to think. All I can do now is collect their bodies and take them to their village for the last rites,” he cried.

Hailing from poor families in Nellore district, the two men migrated to Bengaluru in search of work after completing their Secondary School Certificate exam.

“We needed to find work… there was no question of further studies,” said Nelakurthi Ramesh.

“It was at my work place that I met [Golla]… we became very good friends as we both were from the same area in Nellore. Slowly, we climbed up the sales and marketing ladder and started making decent money recently. We both got married around the same time… Our families loved each other and stayed together most of the time. We would visit Nellore or Hyderabad together,” he said.

His wife Sri Lakshmi and two children, aged 8 and 2, are safe.

Golla Ramesh hailed from Gollavaripalli in Nellore. TDP MLA from Udayagiri, Kakarla Suresh, visited his parents and said they were devastated. “His father, Malakondaiah, is inconsolable. The family had visited them last week before heading to Hyderabad,” Suresh said.

From the homepage

India, US start drafting trade deal; US delegation likely to visit India: Official

‘Lip service’: Jaishankar calls out UN as Pak shields Lashkar proxy linked to Pahalgam attack

‘Bangladeshis’ and ‘ghuspaithiyas’: BJP MP stops five sanitation workers on road in UP, quizzes them on video