Fourteen passengers died and 27 others were injured on Thursday when the private bus they were travelling in collided with a tipper-truck, triggering a massive fire, in Markapuram district of Andhra Pradesh, police said.
According to police, the accident occurred around 6 am near a quarry stretch close to Rayavaram village while the bus was negotiating a turn near the quarry road and was hit by the speeding tipper lorry.
The bus, belonging to Harikrishna Travels, was travelling from Jagtial in Telangana to Kaligiri in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the steering of the bus got stuck as a result of which the driver lost control and moved into the opposite lane.
The tipper truck, which was coming in the lane, also lost control and collided with the bus.
The fuel tank of the bus was blown up and caught fire and within minutes.
The intensity of the flames was so severe that both vehicles were completely gutted,” Markapuram superintendent of police (SP) V Harshavardhan Raju told reporters.
“One of the drivers and the cleaner managed to survive with injuries,” the police said.
Home minister Vangalapudi Anitha said that the bus possessed license and insurance till December 2026.
Several passengers are believed to have survived by breaking the window panes and escaping from the front and side sections of the bus.
The rescue operation was initially hampered by the intensity of the fire, and emergency teams from the police and fire services rushed to the scene to retrieve victims, clear the wreckage and assist survivors.
