Bodies of 18 victims handed over to families after Andhra Pradesh bus fire tragedy
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Kurnool: Authorities in Kurnool have handed over the charred remains of 18 victims of the recent bus fire tragedy to their families following DNA confirmation, on Sunday. The process, supervised by District Collector A. Siri, took place at the Government General Hospital (GGH), where death certificates were also issued. Ambulances were arranged to transport the bodies to their respective hometowns.
Of the identified victims, six each belonged to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, two each to Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and one each to Odisha and Bihar. One body remains unidentified and has been preserved at the hospital, with a man from Chittoor district approaching police, suspecting it may be his father. DNA testing will be conducted to confirm the identity.
The fatal incident occurred between 3 and 3.15 a.m. near Chinnatekur village on the outskirts of Kurnool, when a private bus travelling from Hyderabad to Bengaluru caught fire after running over a motorcycle lying on the road. Nineteen passengers, including two children, were killed, while 27 others, including both drivers, escaped by breaking the bus windows.
Investigations revealed that the motorcycle had earlier skidded and hit a road divider, killing rider B. Shiva Shankar on the spot. His pillion rider, Erriswamy alias Nani, survived with minor injuries and fled in panic after the bus caught fire. CCTV footage from a nearby petrol pump helped police trace and arrest Erriswamy from his native village, Tuggali.
Police said the friction caused by the bus dragging the motorcycle for nearly 200 metres, combined with fuel leakage, triggered the blaze. Shiva Shankar was reportedly intoxicated at the time of the accident, which ultimately led to the deaths of 19 bus passengers.
A First Information Report has been registered based on a passenger’s complaint, and bus driver Miriyala Lakshmaiah along with V Kaveri Travels owner Vemuri Vinod Kumar have been booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
(Inputs from IANS)