Bus fire in India claims at least 20 lives

SadaNews - At least 20 people have died after a fire broke out on a bus following a collision with a motorcycle in southern India early on Friday, according to police.

The incident occurred early in the morning on the outskirts of the city of Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh. The bus, carrying about 40 passengers, was on a night trip between the cities of Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

Local police official Vikrant Patel said, “The identities of 11 bodies have been identified, and 9 other bodies still need to be identified.” He added, “Some of the bodies are severely charred,” according to the German news agency.

Eighteen passengers managed to escape from the burning bus and are receiving treatment for injuries ranging from serious to minor. It is unclear whether there were other passengers on the bus who managed to flee.

Patel indicated that preliminary investigations suggest that the bus collided with a two-wheeled vehicle (motorcycle), which became lodged under the bus's fuel tank, resulting in an explosion that rapidly spread flames throughout the vehicle. Television footage showed the charred remains of the bus on the highway.

The Kurnool incident comes less than two weeks after 22 passengers died in a bus fire in the northern state of Rajasthan on October 14. The Times of India reported that investigations into that incident indicated that the fire was caused by a suspected electrical short circuit in the vehicle's air conditioning system and a gas leak.