Seven die, 45 hurt as bus catches fire near Haveri

Accident similar to last month's Volvo tragedy in Andhra Pradesh

A fortnight after the Mahbubnagar tragedy, another multi-axle luxury Volvo bus went up in flames near here in the wee hours of Thursday, killing six passengers and a driver.

Almost everyone else on board the Bangalore-Mumbai bus, belonging to National Travels, sustained burn injuries.

According to local police, the accident occurred when the bus hit a parapet wall on NH-4  at Kunimallahalli in Savanur taluk in Haveri district between 2:35 and 2:45 am.  The ill-fated bus had started from Kalasipalya bus stand at 8:30 pm on Wednesday. Most of the passengers were bound for either Mumbai or Pune.

The casualty would have been much higher had some passengers not broken open window panes with their heads, allowing fresh air and also giving themselves an escape route.

Syed Aftab, 13, a class VII student of Cottage Public School in Azad Nagar, Bangalore, told mediapersons that on seeing the bus hitting the parapet wall, he woke up his parents and they escaped through one of the windows.

One of the passengers said the surviving driver, Mujahid,  stopped the bus on hearing the commotion inside and immediately fled on seeing the vehicle on fire.

Five of the seven deceased belonged to a single family. They are Kalim Khan (35) of Mumbai, his wife, Shameema Banu (30), their children Khaif (11), Aman (5), Numan (2) and the second driver of the bus, Nayaz, 32, of Kunigal in Tumkur district.

 Another deceased is yet to be identified. Samples of the body parts are being sent to Bangalore for DNA tests for identification, the police said.

Among the 45 injured, five were admitted to Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) in Hubli with three of them suffering serious burns of over 45 per cent. Most of the passengers were treated at District Hospital in Haveri. Many of the passengers continued with their onward journey and some were sent back to Bangalore on their request.

According to National Travels, the vehicle was registered only last month and the drivers had attended a mandatory one-week training at Volvo company.

Under the impact of the accident, the diesel tank started leaking and caught fire, which engulfed the bus in no time. The police and fire fighters rushed to the spot and put out the fire.

Local people also helped in getting the injured admitted to hospital. Fire tenders took nearly 45 minutes to extinguish the fire. A case has been registered with Bankapur Police Station. Transport Department officials also visited the spot.

National Travels partner and JD-S MLA Zameer Ahmed Khan, who visited the spot, announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to  the kin of the deceased, while Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy stated that the government would provide Rs 1 lakh relief.