Five techies among 44 burnt alive as passenger bus catches fire in Andhra

The driver,his assistant and five passengers sitting in the front seats escaped with burn injuries.

Five software engineers were among 44 persons who were burnt alive in a few horrifying minutes when a Volvo bus belonging to private travel agency Jabbar Travels caught fire early on Wednesday morning some 140 kms away from Hyderabad,near Palem in Mahbubnagar district.

Police officials said that while overtaking a car the bus driver lost control and hit a culvert following which it’s fuel tank ruptured and caught fire. As diesel spilled,the fire spread so quickly that the entire bus was a blazing inferno within minutes. The driver,his assistant and five passengers sitting in the front seats escaped with burn injuries.

Mahbubnagar Superintendent of Police Nagendra Kumar said that most of the passengers must have been asleep and the fire engulfed them even before they realized what was happening. “Villagers from nearby areas say the bus caught fire between 5:15 -5:30 am and that the fire spread very quickly. There was no chance they could help those trapped inside. All the bodies are charred beyond recognition, he said.

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After questioning the driver,Kothakota Circle Inspector S Venkatesh said that the bus bearing registration number AP02 TA 0963 was travelling at a high speed when it crashed into the culvert. “I cannot believe it but the fire was so intense that everything has been reduced to ashes. There is possibility of only one body being identified out of the 44. Rest have to be sent for DNA testing for identification,” the CI said.

The travel agencys passenger manifest shows only 29 and the rest boarded en-route. The travel agency said that the bus underwent a fitness test early this month only.

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