The bus burst into flames after it was hit by a speeding truck.
Credit: DH Photo
At least six people were burnt alive after a non-AC sleeper bus caught fire following a collision with a 14-wheeler container truck on NH-48 near Gorlathu village at Javanagondanahalli near Hiriyur town in Chitradurga district in the early hours of Thursday.
As many as 32, including driver and conductor were travelling in the bus. Six bodies have been identified and many passengers survived by jumping from the bus after breaking window glass. The bus was heading from Bengaluru to Gokarna. The container moving towards Bengaluru hit a divider and collided with the bus coming from the opposite direction. The fire broke out due to the impact of the collision.
According to police, Bindu (28) from Bengaluru, her daughter Greya (5), Manasa (26), Navya (27) from Channarayapatna in Hassan district and Rashmi (25) from Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada district were burnt alive. The container driver, who was heading towards Bengaluru, was drowsy, lost concentration and hit the bus coming from the opposite direction after hitting the road divider. The fire broke out in a few moments, leaving five people burnt beyond recognition. The container driver was trapped inside and died on spot.
A mother, daughter and three young women who were on their way to the Gokarna beach on Christmas vacation ended their journey halfway.
The container hit the diesel tank of the bus directly, causing a fire within a few moments. The bus, which caught fire and burnt to ashes within a few minutes. The young women, who were asleep, were unable to escape and lost their lives. The driver, conductor and 25 passengers in the back, including the driver, jumped out of the windows and escaped. If the bus had been air-conditioned, the death toll would have been higher, the police said.
Chitradurga SP Ranjit Bandaru told media persons that 30 passengers were travelling in the bus. Of them, 28 had reserved seats in advance, while two boarded the bus in the middle. After the incident, most of them jumped out of the bus and boarded a vehicle they found and went to the hospital. The police, who arrived at the scene after 20 minutes, admitted the seriously injured to hospitals. As many as 24 people, including the bus driver Rafiq and conductor Mohammed Syed, are undergoing treatment at hospitals in Chitradurga, Sira, Hiriyur and Bengaluru.
The death toll was confirmed only after the injured came into contact at 11 am on Thursday. The bodies of the five people, who were burnt in the bus, were collected by forensic science laboratory experts. DNA tests had to be done to establish their identities.
He said, the identities of Bindu and her daughter Greya are accurate. There is confusion among the parents regarding the identities of Manasa and Navya. "Rashmi's identity is yet to be ascertained," said he added.
Chandregowda, a cashier at a hotel in Channarayapatna, had made all the preparations for his daughter Manasa's wedding. AN Manjappa was also eager to mark the date for his daughter Navya's wedding.