At least 20 people, including 19 passengers and a motorcyclist, lost their lives early Friday when an AC sleeper bus traveling from Hyderabad to Bengaluru caught fire after colliding with a motorcycle in Kurnool.
According to senior police officials, the bus driver had initially stopped to check on the situation but panicked and fled the scene, leaving passengers trapped inside. The collision occurred around 3 a.m., when the motorcycle became lodged under the bus. Friction from the incident is believed to have sparked the blaze.
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Survivors recounted harrowing moments as they struggled to escape. “When the bus stopped, I woke up and saw there had been an accident and parts of the vehicle had caught fire. We punched the window, kicked it, pushed it and even headbutted it. By the time we managed to open it, there was a lot of smoke. We jumped from a fair height and noticed some passengers lying unconscious on the road. We dragged them away from the bus,” one passenger said.
Authorities are investigating the incident, and the circumstances surrounding the driver’s escape and the rapid spread of the fire are under scrutiny.
(This story is published from a syndicated feed)
