The private bus owned by Vemuri Kaveri Travels was en route from Hyderabad to Bengaluru when the incident took place. File Photo
Kurnool bus fire: DNA tests underway for charred victims
Worried families of the passengers were waiting at the local hospital to know whether their loved ones were alive; at least 20 are feared dead
Worried and distressed kin were waiting impatiently as DNA tests of those who were charred in a fire that broke out on a bus near Chinnatekur in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh in the early hours of Friday (October 24) were being undertaken.
Also read: Kurnool bus accident: 20 people killed; CM Naidu orders probe
Forensic doctors and officials undertook the DNA procedure to identify the victims of the accident. According to reports, at least 20 out of 42 passengers who were travelling on the sleeper bus from Hyderabad and Bengaluru were killed. The tragedy took place on National Highway 44 near Chinnatekur village after the bus reportedly hit a two-wheeler and burst into flames.
Questions linger on missing persons
Some of the passengers managed to survive by jumping out of the vehicle. Among the survivors was Gunasai, who boarded the bus at Suraram in Hyderabad along with another person. He was yet to be tracked, and his phone was switched off, leaving his family deeply worried.
Also read: Kurnool bus fire: Woman killed with son after Deepavali visit to daughter
Three persons got into the ill-fated bus from JNTU, Hyderabad. One of them was confirmed to have survived but the other two could not be found till the latest reports came in. Their phones were not reachable.
Injured being treated at hospital
The injured were shifted to the government hospital in Kurnool. Officials were still hopeful about the chances of the missing people surviving, saying unreachable phones should not be held as evidence that they were no longer alive. They said even if those passengers managed to survive, their phones might have been left behind in the burning bus and got either destroyed or their batteries might have died.
Families of those travelling in the bus arrived at Kurnool government hospital as soon as the news of the tragedy broke. Worried and tired faces were seen waiting outside the hospital, seeking confirmation that their loved ones were still breathing.
(The article was first published in The Federal Andhra Pradesh)