Siddaramaiah promises help to get bodies home

Workers load the body of a victim killed in a bus accident into an ambulance, at Mehabubnagar, Andhra Pradesh, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013. The bus crashed into a highway barrier and burst into flames Wednesday morning, killing more than 40 passengers who were locked inside the cabin, many of them burned alive in the inferno, officials said. AP Photo

Expressing shock over the death of 45 people in a fire accident in a Bangalore-Hyderabad bus in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today promised all possible help in bringing the bodies back home.

"I pray to the Almighty to give strength and courage to the grieving families to bear the loss," he said in a statement.

Most of the victims were from Karnataka.

He said Raichur Deputy Commissioner S N Nagaraj rushed to the site of the accident to provide all necessary assistance to the family members of the deceased so that they can bring the bodies back.

The accident occurred at 5.10 AM when the diesel tank of the luxury bus hit against a culvert near Palem in Mahabubnagar, around 140 km from Hyderabad.

Fifty-two persons, including 50 passengers, were travelling in the Volvo bus when the mishap occurred.

According to police five passengers, bus driver Feroze Khan and cleaner Ayyaz, managed to escape with burn injuries and are undergoing treatment at different hospitals.

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