Three people died, and several others were injured after a private bus lost control, collided head-on with a container truck, and caught fire in Andhra Pradesh’s Nandyal district in the early hours of Thursday, police said. The accident occurred between 1 and 2 a.m. near Shirivellametta village in the Shirivella mandal of the district. Both the drivers of the vehicles and the cleaner of the container truck were charred to death beyond recognition, according to the officials.
“A private bus suffered a tyre burst and collided with an oncoming lorry, resulting in the death of three people near Sirivellametta in Nandyal district. The bus driver, the lorry driver, and the cleaner were burnt alive in the accident. Soon after the collision, the bus caught fire. A local DCM driver broke the bus windows, helping 36 passengers escape safely and saving their lives. 3 people died in the accident, four sustained serious injuries and were shifted to the hospital, while eight others suffered minor injuries,” Madhusudan, Inspector, Sirivellametta told ANI.
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Locals helped in safe evacuation: Police
According to Nandyal District Superintendent of Police (SP) Suneel Sheoran, the bus carrying 36 passengers was heading to Hyderabad when the accident occurred around 1.40 am near Sirivella Metta in Nandyal district. After suffering a tyre burst, the bus crashed into a lorry coming in the opposite direction. He said both vehicles were engulfed in flames after the collision. However, the passengers were safely evacuated through the exits with the help of locals.
Four passengers sustained minor fracture injuries and were shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment, said the SP, adding that timely evacuation prevented further casualties.
Traffic at the accident site has been restored, said Sheoran.
Meanwhile, teams from the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory (RFSL) and Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) arrived from Kurnool to examine the scene and ascertain the exact cause of the fire.
(With agency inputs)
