A day after the tragic bus accident in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh in the early hours of Friday, police said that the main cause of the fire was the explosion of two 12 KV batteries installed in the bus. 19 passengers were burnt to death in this accident.
Kurnool Range DIG Koya Praveen said that the fire in the bus spread from two places, first due to the bursting of the fuel tank of the bike and second from near the battery toolkit of the bus. He told that “two 12 KV battery packs installed in the bus exploded, due to which the fire spread rapidly.”
Police said inflammable materials in the bus, such as metallic paint and other items, contributed to the fire. At the time of the accident, there were 44 passengers in the bus, many of whom somehow managed to get out.
The bus crushed the bike and then caught fire
The accident occurred when a sleeper bus going from Hyderabad to Bengaluru crushed a bike near Chinna Tekuru village. The bike was already a victim of an accident. After the collision, the bike got stuck under the bus and its fuel tank burst, causing a fire.
Police have detained bus driver Miriyala Lakshmaiah (42) and assistant driver Shiva Narayan. However, primarily driver Lakshmaiah is being held responsible for negligence and speeding.
Also read: Andhra Pradesh: Fire broke out in a moving bus carrying 42 people…Eyewitness described the scene
The driver jumped out of the bus and tried to save the passengers.
Kurnool SP Vikrant Patil said that the driver jumped out of the bus and escaped the fire, but could not understand the situation. He later woke up the spare driver and together they broke the windows to rescue the passengers.
Yet the fire was so fierce that within a few minutes the bus was completely burnt to ashes. After the accident, the driver fled from the spot, who was later arrested by the police from Kurnool. Police have registered a case against him under sections 125(A) (endangering human life) and 106(1) (causing death by negligence) of the BNS Act.
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