In a horrific accident, a private bus from Hyderabad to Bengaluru caught fire after hitting a bike in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh in the wee hours of Friday, October 24.
Kaveri Travels was carrying 41 people were travelling in the bus, including the driver when the accident took place. Most of the passengers belonged to Hyderabad, Kurnool district collector A Siri said.
How fire accident happened
Preliminary investigation has revealed that when the Kaveri Travels bus, bearing the number plate DD01N9490, Chinna Tekur- Ullindakonda Cross Roads in Kurnool mandal at around 3.30 am, it hit a bike, travelling in the same direction.
As a result, the bike slipped and hit the bus’s diesel tank, resulting in a fierce blaze. The fire initially began at the front portion of the bus but soon spread to the inner compartments where the passengers were asleep.
According to Kurnool Superintendent of Police Vikrant Patil, the bus driver alerted the helper and attempted to extinguish the flames using a water bubble. “As the fire spread, they raised an alarm and broke open the emergency exit. Twenty-one passengers managed to escape. Some of them were injured while jumping out of the bus. They are being treated at Kurnool Government hospital,” he told the media.
The biker has been identified as 22-year-old Shiva Shankar, a resident of Kurnool town. His body was lying over 100 metres away from the bus, and the Pulsar bike, which he was riding, was found stuck underneath the front portion of the bus, with its fuel tank seen without a cap.
The helper has been taken into custody but the driver escaped, said deputy inspector general (DIG) of Kurnool Range, Koya Praveen.
19 bodies charred beyond recognition
At the time of writing this report, around 20 passengers have perished and several have been injured. Nineteen bodies have been recovered. Some of them were charred beyond recognition, prompting officials to call forensic teams to collect DNA samples of the deceased.
According to the Telangana IPR department, 13 of the passengers belonged to Telangana, while 12 were from Andhra Pradesh, and the rest belonged to other states. The injured are currently receiving treatment at Kurnool Government Hospital.
The tragedy was compunded as the bus door got jammed due to a short circuit, and the vehicle was completely gutted within minutes. Most survivors were aged between 25 and 35 years, police added.
Many passengers could not escape the tragedy as it occurred during the night when they were asleep. The bus door did not open immediately as some wires snapped, which worsened the severity of the incident, the collector said.
Victims and survivors
Golla Ramesh, 35, his wife Anusha, 30, their children – ten-year-old Manvitha and 12-year-old Manish – were among those who died in the incident. Natives of Gollavaripalle village of Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh, the family had settled in Bengaluru. They had gone to Hyderabad and were returning home when tragedy struck.
A mother-son duo who boarded the bus in Patancheru also lost their lives. They were returning to Bengaluru after celebrating Deepawali in Hyderabad. Ramu was from Krushi Defence Colony, Patancheru, in Sangareddy.
Two software engineers, identified as Anusha Reddy from Yadadri Bhuvanagiri and Gannamaneni Dhatri from Bapatla district, have died. Dhatri was visiting her uncle in Hyderabad. She, along with Amit Kumar and Ramreddy, had boarded the bus from JNTU. Ramreddy have survived while Amit Kumar remains untraceable.
Harsha and Satyanarayana, who boarded the bus from Nizampet and Gandimaisamma temple respectively, remain untraceable. Venu, 33, who boarded at Chintal, also suffers the same fate.
Telangana government sets up helpline
Telangana government has established helpline numbers with the following officers to facilitate the family members of the passengers involved in the bus accident:
- M Sri Rama Chandra, assistant secretary- 9912919545
- E Chitti Babu, section officer- 9440854433
Gadwal district collector BM Santosh announced control room numbers for victims’ families seeking information:
- Gadwal Collectorate control room: 95022711229
- Helpdesk numbers at the collectorate: 9100901599 and 9100901598
- Gadwal police control room number: 8712661828
- Kurnool Government General Hospital control room number: 9100901604
Naidu, Revanth express condolences; Centre orders Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia
Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who is on a tour of Dubai, expressed his deepest condolences to the families who lost their loved ones. In a post on X shortly after the news of the fire accident broke out, he stated: “Government authorities will extend all possible support to the injured and affected families.”
Expressing sorrow over the incident, Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy directed his officials to coordinate with the officials of Andhra Pradesh and oversee the rescue efforts. The government has also announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of those from the state who died in the accident.
As per the directives of CM Revanth, those injured in the accident would be provided with a financial assistance of Rs two lakh, state Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said. The government would also take steps to provide advanced medical care to the injured, Prabhakar said in a post on X.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh per head to those who died in the bus fire accident, and Rs 50,000 to each of the injured persons. “My thoughts are with the affected people and their families during this difficult time. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured,” the prime minister said.
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and deputy CM D K Shivakumar also expressed sorrow over the loss of lives.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen President Asaduddin Owaisi also expressed his condolences over the bus tragedy and wished a speedy recovery for the injured.
Pvt bus had valid papers but 16 traffic violations
As more devastating news emerges from the heart-wrenching tragedy, reports suggest that the ill-fated Kaveri Bus, despite having all valid documents, including updated fitness and insurance certificates, had 16 traffic violation challans.
The bus was owned by Vemuri Kaveri Travels, operated by Vemuri Vinod Kumar of Rayagada, Odisha.
The bus was originally registered in Daman and Diu on August 8, 2018, before being re-registered Rayagada RTO on April 29 this year.
Officials say that the bus had all the records
- A base tourist permit issued by the Odisha RTO, valid from May 1, 2025, to April 30, 2030
- An All India Tourist Permit (AITP) from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, valid till July 31, 2026.
- Fitness certificate, issued from Silvassa (Daman and Diu), valid till March 31, 2027
- Road tax was paid up to March 31, 2026.
- The bus was insured with New India Assurance Company Ltd, valid till April 20, 2026.
Despite all the above valid documents, the bus repeatedly flouted traffic rules, with 16 challans and Rs 23,000 in unpaid fines registered in Telangana alone.
The Telangana government announced ex gratia for the families of the victims. The copy has been updated with this information.
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