Kurnool bus accident: Police suspect involvement of third vehicle

The Andhra Pradesh Police suspect the involvement of a third vehicle in the recent bus fire accident in Kurnool, which claimed the lives of 19 passengers.

Skid marks reveal new clues

According to the police, the skid marks of the Kaveri Travels bus were found slightly ahead of the spot where the two-wheeler had initially fallen, killing its rider instantly. This suggests that the motorbike may have moved further after the first impact.

Also Read: 16 violations, unpaid fines: How Andhra bus blaze snuffed out 20 lives after Diwali gala

“The difference in the skid mark position of the bike indicates that another vehicle could have hit it before the bus ran over it,” Kurnool district superintendent of police Vikrant Patil told PTI.

He added that the police are investigating whether a third vehicle was involved in the incident.

'Zero tolerance' to drunk driving

Earlier, Hyderabad Police Commissioner, VC Sajjanar, has termed drunk drivers as “terrorists” and called the Kurnool bus fire a “criminal act of negligence that annihilated entire families within seconds”.

Sajjanar took to social media portal X on Sunday (October 26) to declare that the Hyderabad police would adopt “a zero-tolerance stance against drunk driving”.

Also Read: What led to Kurnool bus blaze? Here is the official version

Meanwhile, it emerged that the ill-fated luxury bus had several challans issued by the Telangana police for traffic violations, including dangerous driving and unauthorised parking.

Between January 27, 2024, and October 9, 2025, 16 traffic challans were issued in Telangana. A total of Rs 23,120 in fines remains unpaid.

Regulatory lapses under scrutiny

The massive road tragedy points to issues of regulation, oversight, enforcement, and corruption. The ill-fated Vemuri Kaveri Travels bus was registered in Diu & Daman with an All-India Permit, alterations and fitness certification were done in Rayagada, Odisha.

In the alteration process, Rayagada authorities issued seating permission. However, later, Kaveri Travels took permission for 43 seats and then converted the bus into a sleeper coach.

A cargo consignment mobile phones is believed to have intensified the fire that started after the bus hit a motorcycle, causing sparks that ignited the two-wheeler’s leaking fuel from its tank, which got uncorked in the impact.

Also Read: Kurnool bus fire: ‘Drunk drivers are terrorists,’ says Hyderabad CP Sajjanar

The flames then reached the luggage section, where a parcel containing the devices was stored, and the heat caused their lithium batteries to explode, intensifying the fire that then engulfed the passenger compartment in no time.

Kurnool bus accident

In the early hours of 24 October, a Bengaluru-bound sleeper bus ran over a motorcycle. According to police, the bus driver struck the bike, which was travelling in the same direction, and dragged it for some distance, sparking a fire. The blaze was intensified by the bus batteries, flammable interiors, and cargo containing mobile phones.

Passengers broke the windowpanes to escape to safety. The bus was carrying 44 passengers at the time of the accident. Many were asleep and perished without realising what was happening when the vehicle caught fire around 3 a.m. The blaze completely gutted the sleeper coach, reducing it to a metal shell.

(With agency inputs)