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Seven members of three families, including two children, were burnt to death and 12 others injured after the bus in which they were travelling caught fire following a head-on collision with a goods vehicle near Kamalapur town here in Karnataka on Friday morning. All are residents of Hyderabad.
A total of 32 passengers, two drivers and a cleaner were in the bus. Twenty-six of them were tourists who had booked together for a holiday in Goa. The bus from Goa was heading to Hyderabad, when the accident occurred on the Bidar-Srirangapatna National highway, 30 km away from Kalaburagi city.
The deceased have been identified as Arjun, 37; his wife Saraladevi, 35; their son Viraan, 2; and Shivakumar, 35; his wife Lavanya, 30; their daughter Deekshit, 9; and Anita, 40.
According to eyewitnesses, the bus lost control after colliding with the goods vehicle, fell from the bridge resulting in leakage in the fuel tank and caught fire. Local people came to the rescue of the passengers and helped some of them escape.
Police officials along with the fire and emergency teams reached the spot and shifted the injured passengers to hospital. Superintendent of Police Isha Pant and senior officials visited the spot.
Of the 12 injured, 11 were in stable condition, while one patient was critical with multiple fractures, said Chairman and Managing Director of United Hospital Vikram Siddareddy.
The office of the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G. Kishan Reddy was in touch with the hospital and continuously monitoring the treatment, Dr. Reddy said.
Family members and relatives complained of lack of information on the victims’ status.
G. Meena, mother of accident victim Arjun, collapsed on learning about the accident. She was put on observation.
Telangana CM announces ex gratia
Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, expressing shock over the bus tragedy, instructed the official machinery to ensure the best of services to those injured. He has also announced a solatium of ₹3 lakh to the kin of the deceased and ₹50,000 for those injured in the accident. Arrangements, in coordination with the officials, were also being made to shift the bodies of the victims to Hyderabad.
Minister for Animal Husbandry Talasani Srinivas Yadav, on behalf of the Telangana government, called on the grieving families at their residences at Risala Bazaar and at Ghode ki Khabar in Hyderabad and expressed sympathies.
PM expresses grief
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed anguish at the loss of lives and wished a speedy recovery to the injured. “Saddened by the mishap in Karnataka’s Kalaburagi district. My thoughts are with those who have lost their loved ones due to this tragedy. I hope that the injured recover at the earliest. The local administration has been helping those affected,” he tweeted.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai also expressed grief over the accident and conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family members.
Union Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy, Chemicals and Fertilizers Bhagwant Khuba visited the spot. Mr. Khuba said he would raise the issue of solatium with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
