Fire on board bus kill 14 in Andhra Pradesh
Fourteen people on board a private bus were burnt to death, and 22 were injured in a blaze triggered following the vehicle’s collision with a truck here in Markapuram district on Thursday. Among the injured, three are reported to be in critical condition.
The mishap took place between 5.30 am and 6 am near Rayavaram village on the road leading to Podili when the bus reportedly rammed into the concrete chips-laden dumper truck, colliding with its fuel tank, which sparked a massive inferno.
“There were 41 people in the bus at the time of the accident and all the 13 deceased persons were burnt to death,” Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha said.
According to her, the bus belonged to Harikrishna Travels and its owner hails from Kanigiri. She said the bus possessed a license and insurance till December 2026. The private bus was heading to Kaligiri in Nellore district from Jagtiyal in Telangana.
President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed grief over the incident. The Prime Minister announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF)to the next of kin of each deceased person. The injured would be given Rs 50,000.
Markapuram in-charge SP V Harshavardhan Raju said the preliminary probe pointed to the bus veering off into the wrong lane and hitting the truck.
President Murmu condoled the loss of lives and wished a speedy recovery to the injured. “Deeply saddened to learn about the tragic bus accident in Markapuram district, Andhra Pradesh. I extend my deepest condolences to the bereaved families. My thoughts and prayers are with them. I wish a speedy recovery to those injured,” she said in a social media post.
“The mishap in Markapuram district, Andhra Pradesh, is tragic. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. May the injured recover at the earliest,” PM Modi said.
Andhra Pradesh CM Naidu and his Telangana counterpart, A Revanth Reddy, expressed profound shock and grief over the road accident.
Naidu held a teleconference with senior officials and ministers, directing them to extend the best possible medical care for all the injured victims and adequate compensation to the families of the deceased and injured passengers.
Ordering an investigation into the accident, Naidu offered his deepest condolences to the bereaved families and assured full support from the State Government. Revanth Reddy directed Telangana Chief Secretary Ramakrishna Rao to gather complete details about those who died and those who were injured in the accident.
