At least 44 people were killed after a private bus carrying them crashed into a highway barrier and its fuel tank caught fire in Mahabubnagar district of Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday morning.
The Jabbar Travels' 2010-make AC Volvo bus had begun its journey on Tuesday night from Kalasipalya area in Bengaluru to Hyderabad and picked up at least 49 passengers along the way, police said.
Bus owner Shakeel Ahmed said seven people, including the driver and the cleaner, escaped through a window.
The other passengers were apparently asleep when the tank exploded around 100km from Hyderabad and were trapped inside the bus.
Ahmed said the driver called him early morning and told him the bus had caught fire.
'Most of the passengers could not escape as the flames caught the plastic and cloth materials, especially the seats, and were burnt to death,' Ahmed said.
Karnataka transport minister Ramalinga Reddy has asked police to find out the addresses and other details of the deceased passengers, most of whom were charred beyond recognition, so that compensation can be announced for their families.
Bengaluru city police commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar has also directed officials to probe the accident and collect information regarding the victims.
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