Andhra bus fire: Survivors recall horrific incident, fellow passenger risked life to rescue many

Hyderabad: Amid the tragedy of 13 killed in the Andhra Pradesh bus mishap on Thursday, a fellow passenger named Balaraju emerged as an unlikely hero.

Despite sustaining injuries himself, he broke open the bus windows and pulled several co-passengers to safety. Eyewitnesses said that had he not acted so swiftly, the death toll would have been far higher.

Balaraju, a resident of Takkellapadu village in Hanumanthunipadu Mandal, Kanigiri, is currently receiving treatment at Markapuram Government Hospital.

Survivors recounted that most passengers were asleep when a loud bang jolted them awake, only to find the bus engulfed in fire and thick smoke within moments.

While some managed to break the windows and jump out on their own, it was Balaraju who broke open the windows on his side and helped several others escape before the flames could claim more lives.

"I work as a labour contractor in Hyderabad and was travelling to my hometown near Kanigiri to arrange resources for an upcoming project. A friend had joined me for the journey. It must have been around 5:40 or 5:45 am when I heard a loud sound and the bus suddenly veered to the right. Within moments, it caught fire. I spotted a sickle-like sharp object without a handle and used it to break open two windows."

"With all my strength, I managed to push out seven or eight passengers. But as I tried to help another person, my vision blurred from the thick smoke and I began to choke. I jumped out of the window just as the flames reached me. I don't think anyone on the front side survived, except perhaps the driver and cleaner and even the cleaner had severe burn injuries," said Balaraju.

Notably, all those who escaped were found with turmeric on their bodies and were bewildered by it. "I lost my grandmother and younger sister. Four of us boarded at Armoor in Telangana. Now only my sister's husband and I are alive. My grandmother and sister are gone. I don't know what to do," said one survivor, weeping inconsolably.

Another passenger, Abraham, who also survived, said the thick smoke that spread rapidly had choked everyone on board and obscured their vision, making it nearly impossible to understand what was happening or navigate their way to safety.