A Hyderabad-bound Volvo (Jabbar Travels) coach caught fire, killing 45 trapped passengers inside early Wednesday morning, after its fuel tank burst into flames following a high-speed collision and a jammed central locking system prevented people from escaping.
The horrific blaze that killed the sleeping passengers happened near Palem village on National Highway-7 after the luxury coach coming from Bangalore hit a culvert and caught fire. Among those killed were five techies who were returning to Hyderabad to be with their families on Diwali. A couple who planned to celebrate their anniversary in the city, and a techie on his way to meet his newborn were also among the dead.
Most of the passengers, woken up by the huge fuel tank blast at about 5am, tried in vain to get out of the vehicle, but the centrally locked bus ensured that only seven got out alive, while the rest, including two babies died a gruesome death, witnesses said.
“The bodies had been reduced to ashes and there was only stench of burnt bodies everywhere,” said a local witness.
The Bangalore-Hyderabad bus operated by Jabbar Travels was overtaking a car at a very high speed near Palem, about 140 km from Hyderabad, when one of the front wheels burst and it hit a culvert, causing the fuel tank holding 350 litres of fuel to explode on impact. The fire swiftly spread across the air-conditioning duct containing neon gas and engulfed the Volvo bus within minutes.
One survivor said he saw passengers scurrying towards the exit only to find the front door bolted and were looking to get out even as thick smoke and flames made it impossible for them to breathe or see.
“I broke open the glass window and jumped out and fainted within seconds,” Srikar, one survivor told TOI later at a Hyderabad hospital. Before help arrived, six others, whose clothes had also caught fire, jumped out of the driver’s seat, but it was too late for the others.
“He called us at 8pm on Tuesday and said he was boarding the bus. We were all so happy that he is coming home for the festival. Hearing of the accident today morning, we tried calling his mobile but there was no response,” said Rakesh Singh, relative of techie Akshay Singh, who died in the accident.
Forensic experts said in the luggage space, several bags of human hair, flower bouquets and bags of maize were stowed and this acted as a catalyst to the blaze.
A large police force and rescuers had a tough time retrieving the bodies because of the intense heat after the accident. By afternoon all the charred bodies were retrieved.
Trouble broke out after 14 families who arrived at the spot to claim the bodies of their kin were made to wait by police, who said bodies would be handed over only after a forensic test was carried out in Hyderabad.
Authorities said the bus, which has a seating capacity of 43, had 50 passengers on board, other than the driver and the cleaner. Though 33 passengers had booked their tickets online to travel in the bus, some more got in later.
Karnataka transport minister Ramalinga Reddy said the driver, Feroze, had called the owner at around 3.45 am to complain that he was facing some problems with one of the front tyres.
“Before it could be fixed, the accident occurred. A thorough investigation will only reveal what exactly had happened,” he told the media.
Those who escaped the mishap were driver Feroze, helper Fayaz and five passengers – Madpasha, Yogesh, Rajesh, Jai Singh and Srikar, who sustained 10-15 % burns.
The condition of Yogesh, who sustained 40% burns, was critical, while the driver and the cleaner are in police custody after a brief medical care.
Former Andhra Pradesh minister J C Diwakar Reddy’s brother, J C Prabhakar Reddy, who came to the accident spot, said they had sold the bus to Jabbar Travels, Hyderabad, in 2010. Transport department officials said the bus has a fitness validity till October 6, 2014.
District collector M Girija Shankar said other than the door, the emergency windows openings were also automatically locked. He said the bus had been seized earlier for some violations, pertaining to the permit.
Earlier, some families of the victims were handed over the bodies after they were able to identify them with the ornaments they were wearing.
From early morning, angry relatives of the victims rushed first to the Hyderabad office of Jabbar Travels and later to Mahbubnagar.