Passengers “burned alive” after a horror blaze broke out on a coach following a crash, killing at least 25 people.
Dozens of travellers became trapped on a “luxury” bus after a motorcycle crashed into the vehicle on Friday morning. The inferno quickly ripped through the coach within minutes in southern India.
The horror tragedy happened when the vehicle was speeding on a motorway near the Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh state. A few of the desperate passengers were able to smash windows and escape the fire, leaving these people with minor injuries, reports the Mirror.
Other people were unable to escape in time and burned to death before the authorities could arrive to help, senior police officer Vikrant Patil said. The coach was travelling between the cities of Hyderabad and Bengaluru when a motorbike slammed into the speeding bus from behind.
The motorcycle became stuck and dragged along with the coach for some time. The sparks from the motorbike pulling along the road caused the coach’s fuel tank to burst into a ball of fire and quickly burn through the bus, police revealed.
Patil said: “As the smoke started spreading, the driver stopped the bus and tried to put the fire out by using a fire extinguisher, but the fire was so intense he couldn’t control it.”
Many passengers were asleep when the collision happened. At least 25 people were killed, including the motorcyclist, but 15 people rescued from the fireball were admitted to hospital.
A forensics team worked with police at the horror scene. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has extended his condolences to the families of those tragically killed on Friday morning.
This follows a devastating incident in Uganda on Wednesday, where 63 people lost their lives when two buses collided on a motorway. The horrific crash triggered a massive pile-up on the major highway.
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The bus drivers, travelling in opposite directions, were attempting to overtake other vehicles when the collision occurred. It is reported that one of the buses swerved across the road in a desperate attempt to avoid the crash, only to collide with another coach.
At the time of the deadly collision, which occurred just after midnight, both vehicles were filled with passengers. Other cars also crashed while trying to evade the ensuing coach pile-up.
By the time rescue teams reached the scene in Kitaleba village, dozens of injured travellers were scattered by the roadside. Disturbing images showed one car overturned in the pile-up and debris strewn across the road.
