Even as the Volvo bus fire tragedy in Andhra Pradesh is still fresh in memory, another luxury bus caught fire killing seven passengers and injuring 25 of them on small hours of Thursday near Haveri in Karnataka. The Volvo bus heading to Mumbai from Bangalore caught fire after ramming into the railing of a bridge in Karnataka, a police official said.
According to police, the accident took place around 2.45 am on the National Highway (NH 4) near Haveri town, about 330 km from Bangalore in north Karnataka.
North Range Inspector General of Police Bhaskar Rao told The Pioneer that the private bus was on its way to Mumbai from Bangalore, crashed into the railing of a bridge at high speed and caught fire as its fuel tank cracked.
This comes close on the heels of the October 30 Andhra Pradesh bus tragedy when 45 passengers perished when a similar private-run luxury bus burst out in flames at Mahbubnagar.
On Thursday, 43 men, six women and a girl child were onboard the ill-fated Karnataka private bus, operated by the Bangalore-based Nationals Travels.
The bus left the city on late Wednesday after picking up passengers from seven boarding points. It was scheduled to reach Mumbai on Thursday afternoon.
Shashi Kumar, the SP of Haveri, said, “We are yet to identify the victims as their bodies are burnt beyond recognition. An autopsy and DNA test will be conducted to identify the bodies....”
Six of the 25 injured were taken to a State-run hospital at Hubli, 50 km from Haveri town, as their condition was critical. The remaining injured were treated in a hospital at Haveri for minor burns.
Most of the passengers were asleep when the fire broke out. All the survivors escaped by smashing the emergency exit window
and jumping out from the burning bus. State Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy rushed to the spot.
“Overspeeding appears to the cause of the accident. We are ordering a probe to ascertain the reason though the driver could be at fault for driving so recklessly,” Reddy told reporters.
The bus operator announced Rs 5 lakh compensation each to the victims’ kin after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah declared Rs 1 lakh ex gratia to the relatives.
“The State Government will bear the expenses incurred for treating the injured,” Siddaramaiah told reporters in Bangalore after ordering an inquiry.
The transport department also arranged a bus to ferry about 20 of the stranded passengers to Mumbai after some of the injured were discharged from the hospital.