<p>Kurnool: The driver of the ill-fated Bengaluru-bound bus which caught fire and killed 20 people on Friday here, had escaped the inferno by jumping out through the passenger door and failed to gauge the situation, a police official said on Saturday.</p><p>Currently, both the driver, Miriyala Lakshmaiah (42) and the additional driver are in police custody. A case was filed regarding the incident on Friday.</p><p>As many as 19 passengers travelling in the private bus and a motor bike rider were charred to death after it collided with the two-wheeler at Chinnatekuru village of Kurnool district.</p><p>There were 44 passengers in the bus and several managed to escape the fire.</p><p>"Once the fire started (and) the bus came to a halt, through the passenger door he (Lakshmaiah) jumped out. He did not understand the intensity," Kurnool superintendent of police Vikrant Patil told PTI.</p><p>After escaping the raging fire, Lakshmaiah woke up the additional driver sleeping in the luggage rack at the bottom portion of the bus between the front and rear wheels.</p><p>Realising that they cannot enter the vehicle, together they started breaking the window panes with a rod used to change tyres, enabling some passengers to escape the blaze, said Patil.</p><p>Some onlookers also broke a few more window panes while some others were broken from inside by the panic-stricken passengers rushing to escape, he said.</p>.Kurnool bus tragedy | Day after accident, authorities crack down on private buses in Telangana.<p>However, the fire continued to rage and engulf the entire bus, prompting the scared Lakshmaiah to flee the spot.</p><p>Police picked him up from Kurnool on Friday afternoon. He is being held culpable for the disaster.</p><p>Police booked Lakshmaiah for negligence and overspeeding.</p><p>They had registered the case at the Ulindakonda police station under sections 125 (a) (endangering human life) and 106 (1) (causing death by negligence) of BNS Act.</p><p>The bus caught fire after colliding with the two-wheeler. The blaze was triggered after the motor bike -- with its fuel cap open -- was dragged underneath the vehicle.</p><p>According to police, the bus belonging to V Kaveri Travels with registration number DD 01 N 9490 is not registered in the southern state.</p><p>Patil noted that it was registered in the Union Territory of Daman and Diu but enjoyed an all-India permit to engage in business in Andhra Pradesh.</p><p>As part of the probe, police seized some papers from the travel company, including an all-India permit, transport permit, insurance and others.</p><p>Further, Patil said police are ascertaining the fire safety mechanisms employed by the bus operator, among others.</p>
<p>Kurnool: The driver of the ill-fated Bengaluru-bound bus which caught fire and killed 20 people on Friday here, had escaped the inferno by jumping out through the passenger door and failed to gauge the situation, a police official said on Saturday.</p><p>Currently, both the driver, Miriyala Lakshmaiah (42) and the additional driver are in police custody. A case was filed regarding the incident on Friday.</p><p>As many as 19 passengers travelling in the private bus and a motor bike rider were charred to death after it collided with the two-wheeler at Chinnatekuru village of Kurnool district.</p><p>There were 44 passengers in the bus and several managed to escape the fire.</p><p>"Once the fire started (and) the bus came to a halt, through the passenger door he (Lakshmaiah) jumped out. He did not understand the intensity," Kurnool superintendent of police Vikrant Patil told PTI.</p><p>After escaping the raging fire, Lakshmaiah woke up the additional driver sleeping in the luggage rack at the bottom portion of the bus between the front and rear wheels.</p><p>Realising that they cannot enter the vehicle, together they started breaking the window panes with a rod used to change tyres, enabling some passengers to escape the blaze, said Patil.</p><p>Some onlookers also broke a few more window panes while some others were broken from inside by the panic-stricken passengers rushing to escape, he said.</p>.Kurnool bus tragedy | Day after accident, authorities crack down on private buses in Telangana.<p>However, the fire continued to rage and engulf the entire bus, prompting the scared Lakshmaiah to flee the spot.</p><p>Police picked him up from Kurnool on Friday afternoon. He is being held culpable for the disaster.</p><p>Police booked Lakshmaiah for negligence and overspeeding.</p><p>They had registered the case at the Ulindakonda police station under sections 125 (a) (endangering human life) and 106 (1) (causing death by negligence) of BNS Act.</p><p>The bus caught fire after colliding with the two-wheeler. The blaze was triggered after the motor bike -- with its fuel cap open -- was dragged underneath the vehicle.</p><p>According to police, the bus belonging to V Kaveri Travels with registration number DD 01 N 9490 is not registered in the southern state.</p><p>Patil noted that it was registered in the Union Territory of Daman and Diu but enjoyed an all-India permit to engage in business in Andhra Pradesh.</p><p>As part of the probe, police seized some papers from the travel company, including an all-India permit, transport permit, insurance and others.</p><p>Further, Patil said police are ascertaining the fire safety mechanisms employed by the bus operator, among others.</p>