Rayavaram (AP): At least 13 people aboard a private bus were burnt to death and 22 injured in a blaze triggered following the vehicle’s collision with a tipper here in Markapuram district on Thursday, top government officials said.
The accident occurred between 5:30 am and 6 am.
It took place near Rayavaram village on the road leading to Podili when the bus 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. She said the bus possessed 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.
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.
“People sitting in the tipper were injured. The impact was also in the middle at the diesel tank of the tipper. It is visible that the bus hit the truck,” Raju told reporters.
Besides the impact and diesel tank-powered blaze, he said the bus’ battery also caught fire, leading to deaths. He said the driver’s claim of the bus’ steering wheel getting stuck has to be probed further.
Among the injured, three are reported to be in critical condition, said an official press release.
Modi announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF to the next of kin of each deceased person. The injured would be given Rs 50,000.
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.
