Seven dead and 33 injured after Bangalore Volvo bus hits a bridge
By Vanu Dev
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Seven people were burnt to death and 33 injured when a Volvo bus caught fire after hitting a bridge near Haveri district headquarters, 330km northwest of Bangalore, in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The Mumbai-bound bus from Bangalore, owned by a private tourist operator, went up in flames around 2:45am, police officials said, adding that three children and a woman were among the dead.
Most passengers escaped by jumping out through the emergency exit.
The tragedy occurred barely two weeks after another Volvo bus had burst into flames in Andhra Pradesh's Mahabubnagar district, claiming 45 lives.
Destroyed: The bus caught fire after hitting a bridge near Haveri district headquarters, 330km northwest of Bangalore
IGP (North Range) Bhaskar Rao said Thursday's accident occurred near Kunemelli bridge, 15km from Haveri, on the Bangalore-Mumbai highway.
Three victims died on the spot while four others succumbed to serious burns on the way to hospital, he said. The injured, three of whom are critical, are undergoing treatment in Haveri district hospital and KIMS, Hubli.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the diesel tank of the bus caught fire after hitting a bridge on the highway. The driver managed to stop the bus about 150 metres from the spot.
The bus belonged to National Travels, which is owned by former minister and JD (S) leader Syed Zameer Ahmed, sources said.
Ahmed immediately announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of each of the deceased, while the state government announced Rs 1 lakh compensation to the victims' families.
Haveri Superintendent of Police N Shashikumar said many passengers suffered fractures and related injuries as they attempted to escape from the raging fire by jumping out of the bus through the emergency exit.
As in the Mahabubnagar accident, the bus brushed against the retaining wall of a bridge damaging the diesel tank, resulting in fire that engulfed the vehicle within minutes.
Survivor: One of the thirty-three injured on the bus inferno recuperates in a hospital
A few youngsters like Prasanth Pande of Delhi and Altaf, an 11-year-old boy from Mumbai, managed to break open the widows and pull the majority of the passengers out of the bus.
"If the window panes were not broken, the casualties would have been much more," said Dileep Kumar Sindhe, who suffered a minor injury to his right hand.
Karnataka's transport minister R Ramalinga Reddy rushed to the spot.
"Over-speeding appears to be the cause of the accident as in the previous mishap. We are ordering a probe to ascertain the reason, though the driver could be at fault," Reddy told reporters.
A deadly replay
On October 31, forty-five passengers were burnt to death when a luxury bus travelling from Bangalore to Hyderabad caught fire in Andhra Pradesh's Mahabubnagar district, 130km from the state capital.
The passengers were fast asleep when at around 5.20am the fuel tank of the Volvo bus hit a culvert reportedly while overtaking a car.
The ensuing sparks caused the tank to explode and 45 people were burnt alive as the flames engulfed the bus in a matter of minutes. Only seven passengers, including the bus driver and the attendant, had managed to escape.
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