14 Die As Bus Catches Fire in AP Accident
Private travels bus from Hyderabad catches fire after crashing into speeding tipper near Rayavaram quarries; several injured, toll may rise
Nellore:14 passengers were killed and 28 others injured after a private bus allegedly collided head-on with a tipper truck and caught fire near Rayavaram in Markapuram due to suspected poor visibility and possible loss of control, police said on Thursday.
The accident occurred between 5.40 am and 6.30 am near the Palakala quarry area when a bus operated by Harikrishna Travels, travelling from Jagtial in Telangana to Kaligiri in SPSR Nellore district, hit a gravel-laden tipper truck. The impact triggered a fire that engulfed the bus within minutes, trapping several passengers, police said.
Around 41 people were on board. Passengers seated towards the rear were unable to escape and died in the blaze, while some seated in the front managed to get out with injuries, according to police.
The injured were shifted to Markapuram Government Hospital. Six of them, stated to be in critical condition, were later moved to Ongole for advanced treatment.
Markapuram DSP U. Nagaraju said the bodies were charred, making identification difficult. Forensic teams are conducting DNA analysis to establish the identities of the victims. A young girl is reported missing and efforts are on to trace her.
Preliminary investigation indicates the crash occurred on a two-lane road without a divider at a curve near the quarry. Police suspect poor visibility at the bend and the possibility of one of the vehicles veering into the opposite lane while negotiating the curve.
Police said the bus had reportedly developed mechanical issues earlier and was halted at Yerragondapalem for repairs before resuming the journey. The driver reportedly told police that the steering malfunctioned, causing him to lose control before the collision.
A case (No. 22/26) has been registered at Markapuram Rural police station under the supervision of DSP Nagaraju.
Superintendent of Police Harshavardhan Raju said all angles, including mechanical failure, driver error and road conditions, are being examined. Authorities said several victims are suspected to be from Kanigiri, Pamuru and Vinjamuru areas, though identification is still in progress.
The deceased have been identified as Tammisetty Pitchamma (80), Tammisetty Rukmini (26), Uppu Ramadevi, Ambati Anil (27), Ambati Liyo Huda (5 months), Muttangi Venkateswarlu (45), Bandaru Padma, Narsing Prabhavathi (36), Narsing Chaitra (6), Podili Mahendra, Kathi Jayaramulu, Devendla Ramaiah, Atmakuri Chinna (45) and Chilakapati Venkatesh.
The injured include Kanchupati Ayyanna (18), Chambeti Manoj Kumar (18), Chambeti Sujatha (45), Chambeti Meghana (19), Velugoti Guravaiah (60), Kummara Konda Abraham (42), Ramachandrapu Praveen (21), Ambati Sowjanya (22), Thalapala Surendra (25), Thalapala Chandana (21), Thalapala Chandu (6), Ch. Amos (16), Kowsanapogu Prakash (17), Uppu Manohar (20), Addanki Manohar (23), Bandaru Rohan (8), Dabbukottu Kiran (21), Kola Balaraju (47), Mailari Chitti Babu (28), Noone Jony (33), Bathula Manemma (32), Dabbugottu Srihari (22), Tammisetty Thirupalu, Yerraguntla Srinivasa Rao (35), Thupakula Ratnamma (42), Battula Mounika (20), Buttala Lakshmi Kumari (38), Pandem Yuvaraju (23) and Putluri Mahendra Reddy (17).
