20 killed when private bus traveling through Bengaluru catches fire in Andhra Kurnool

Updated: Sat, 25 Oct 2025 12:18 (IST) A private AC sleeper bus traveling from Hyderabad to Bengaluru caught fire after colliding with a bicycle in the early hours of Friday. 20 people died in this accident, including two children and the cyclist. Most of the people died by fire. Some bodies were so burned that they could not be identified. 20 people died in a fire in a private bus going to Bengaluru in Kurnool, Andhra (Photo-X) PTI, Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh). A private AC sleeper bus traveling from Hyderabad to Bengaluru caught fire after hitting a bicycle in the early hours of Friday. 20 people died in this accident, including two children and the cyclist. Most of the people died by fire. Remove Advertisement Only Read News Currently 11 bodies have been identified by seat numbers. Some bodies were so burned that they could not be identified. After this, the officials had to call in forensic teams to collect DNA samples. Currently, 11 bodies have been identified by seat numbers, but this can only be confirmed through DNA testing. President Draupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar expressed grief over this accident. Compensation announced: Prime Minister Modi announced to give Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased and Rs 50 thousand to the injured from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund. At the same time, the governments of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana announced financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh each to the family members of the slain and Rs 2 lakh each to the injured. According to reports, a bike collided with a bus on National Highway-44 near Chinnatekur in Kurnool around 3 am on Friday morning, got stuck and was swept away. The fire broke out because the bike’s fuel tank cap was opened. Kurnool SP Vikrant Patel quoted a bus driver as saying that the bike was already lying on the road. This may have happened due to some previous accident. Kurnool Range DIG Koya Praveen said that within a few minutes of the fire, the bus was completely gutted and turned into an iron structure. There was no fire in the diesel tank of the bus which was later evacuated as a precaution. The accident occurred early in the morning when most of the passengers were fast asleep. He didn’t even realize what was happening and he died. The door of the bus also got stuck due to short circuit. There were 44 people in the bus, including two drivers. Nine people were injured. The survivors are between 25 and 35 years old. This includes both the drivers. The injured are out of danger. Surviving passengers said that only a few passengers managed to break the windows and escape through the emergency doors. DIG said that 19 dead bodies have been recovered from the bus and the body of the cyclist is also in the mortuary. He said that there was no means of fire control available in the accident bus or any hammer to break the glass. But the bus had a valid All India Permit and Fitness Certificate. The Telangana police are understood to have issued several complaints to the bus for traffic violations including dangerous driving and wrong parking. Nellore resident IT professional S. broke the back door to escape. Harika said: ‘I was sleeping and when I opened my eyes I saw the fire spreading through the bus, which spread within a few seconds. A passenger broke the back door and we all jumped out. “My legs were broken because I jumped from a height of more than 15 feet,” says Surya, a resident of Hyderabad who is going for an interview at a top IT company. He said: ‘Naveen is also an IT professional, I spoke to him on the bus itself, we both jumped off the bus and now he is next to me in the hospital.’ Another said: ‘I was immediately woken up by the loud noise. There was a lot of smoke in the bus. Family of one of the namesake friends saved. Two namesakes also traveled in the bus with their families. One family managed to escape with their lives, while the other family perished in the accident. People from different states traveled in the bus. These include six passengers from Andhra Pradesh and three each from Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Bihar. Most of the passengers traveling in the bus were residents of Hyderabad (Telangana). The six killed are also from Telangana. Helpline to help family members: Kurnool administration has started a control room and Telangana government has started a helpline to help the family members of bus passengers. The Telangana government said its officials – M. Sriramchandra (mobile 9912919545) and E. Chittibabu (mobile 9440854433) – could be contacted for help. Andhra Pradesh Home Minister V. Anita said that the government had constituted a committee to investigate the accident. Rahul raises questions on safety arrangements Rahul Gandhi, raising questions on safety arrangements, said on Twitter, “Such frequent accidents raise serious questions about the safety of our public transport. Safety of passengers is the top priority and along with the responsibility of vehicle maintenance, it is also necessary to ensure accountability for these incidents.” The Andhra Pradesh government has constituted a committee to investigate the Kurnool bus accident. The Andhra Pradesh government has constituted a committee of officials from transport, road and revenue departments. It will investigate the incident of massive fire in a bus. 20 people died in this accident. Home Minister V. Anita said that the government has appointed Transport, a High powered committee of officials from road and revenue departments has been constituted.