'Everybody was crying for help': Survivors recall Kurnool bus tragedy horror

20 people were killed when the bus went up in flames after hitting a motorcycle on the outskirts of Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh.

Hyderabad : Several passengers who narrowly escaped the devastating fire in a sleeper bus heading from Hyderabad to Bengaluru early on Friday narrated harrowing details of the incident.

Police personnel investigate the site of a tragic bus fire near Chinna Tekur village in Kurnool on Friday. (ANI Video Grab)

Twenty people were killed and 20 others injured when the bus went up in flames after hitting a motorcycle on the outskirts of Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh, said police.

“I boarded the bus at Nampally in Hyderabad to return to Bengaluru after Diwali. I was in a deep sleep when I suddenly heard a loud noise at around 3.30am. I noticed flames all around me and everybody was crying for help. I smashed the window adjacent to my berth and jumped out. Two others managed to escape with me,” said 31-year-old Aakash, a techie from Bengaluru.

Another survivor, MG Rama Reddy (50), who suffered burns and is undergoing treatment in Kurnool Hospital, recalled: “I was asleep when I heard screams. The bus was filled with thick smoke and fire. I couldn’t see anything. Someone pulled me out through the window.”

He said as soon as he came out, the entire bus was engulfed by flames. “People inside were burnt alive. We were taken to the hospital by a passerby and I fell unconscious soon after I was moved into the vehicle. I regained consciousness at around 6am and informed my family that I was safe,” Rama Reddy said.

Another survivor, Subrahmanyam (26) from Kakinada, recounted how the passengers struggled to find a way out amid the smoke and confusion. “The bus was filled with smoke. I could barely see. We broke the rear windows and jumped out with great difficulty,” he said.

“I can’t imagine what would have happened to me, had the emergency window not opened on time,” recalled 27-year-old Jayant Kushwaha, one of the lucky passengers who escaped alive without any injury.

He said the ambulance and fire trucks came after nearly an hour of the accident. A policewoman who happened to be passing by in her private vehicle stopped and called for help, he said.

Another passenger who boarded the bus at Moosapet said he managed to escape as he was awake at that time. “Soon after noticing the flames, I along with three others broke open the emergency door and jumped out. A couple of others broke window pane and rushed out,” he said.

Just three days ago, 27-year-old Ghattamaneni Dhatri was soaking in the festive glow of Diwali at her uncle’s home in Hyderabad — lighting lamps and sharing laughter with her cousins. For the young software engineer from Bengaluru, it was a rare break from her busy work schedule.

But what began as a joyful festival of lights for her has now left behind only the dim shadows of grief. Little did she imagine that it would be her final Diwali. On Thursday night, Dhatri boarded a bus back to Bengaluru and a horrific road accident turned that journey into her last.

“It’s an unimaginable loss,” said Parchur MLA Eluri Sambasiva Rao, who visited her grieving family at their home in Pusapadu village, Inkollu mandal of Bapatla district. “Her parents are inconsolable. They simply cannot come to terms with the fact that their daughter is gone,” he said.

So was the case with Anusha Reddy (22) from Vastakondur in Yadadri district (Telangana), who was also a software professional in Bengaluru. She had come home to Yadadri for Diwali. Anusha boarded the bus from Khairatabad in Hyderabad to return to Bengaluru. She too lost her life in the fire. Her parents are in deep shock. The accident also claimed an entire family of four from Gollavaripalli village in Vinjamuru mandal, Nellore district. The deceased were identified as Golla Ramesh (35), his wife Anusha (30), daughter Manvitha (10), and son Manish (12).

“Ramesh’s family settled in Bengaluru and had been visiting Hyderabad regularly. They were returning when the bus met with the fatal accident. Now, the entire family has been wiped out,” said a relative at Gollavaripalli village.