One Family Survives, Neighbour's Family Perishes

Hyderabad: Two families from Nellore visited a family in Hyderabad for Diwali. They planned a short vacation, and it was all laughter and warmth till tragedy struck in Kurnool, which claimed the lives of an entire family of four who were returning to Bengaluru. While a member of one of the two families rescued his family and four others, he could all but helplessly watch his friend’s family engulfed in flames.

The nightmarish incident took place at Chinnatekur village of Kallur mandal during the early hours of Friday, resulting in the deaths of six people from Telangana, while 10 others survived the ghastly accident after a sleeper bus caught fire following a collision with a two-wheeler. The Telangana government sent 15 ambulances to Kurnool, arranged a helpline for assistance, and assigned two officers — assistant secretary M. Sri Rama Chandra and section officer E. Chitti Babu — to oversee the relief operations.

The survivors include N. Ramesh from Nellore, who had boarded the bus with his wife and two children after celebrating Diwali in Hyderabad. Travelling alongside them was another family, also headed by a man named Ramesh — his close relatives and neighbours who lived in the same apartment complex in Bengaluru. Both families were returning home after the holidays when the accident occurred.

“The flames were everywhere, and people were screaming for help,” Ramesh recounted, his voice breaking as he spoke to Deccan Chronicle. “We were lodged in the front section of the sleeper coach when the fire broke out. With screams and cries around, when I opened my eyes, it was all red and fire. I immediately alerted my family and other passengers, including my friend Ramesh and his family.”

Ramesh failed to open the front door since it was jammed and broke open a window in the middle, through which he rescued his son, daughter, and wife. “I helped four other passengers but could not reach my friend due to the thick flames. I will live with that sight forever,” he said.

Krishna Chary, father of the injured Andoju Naveen Kumar, said his son had been working in Bengaluru for over a year. He came to Hyderabad for the Diwali festival and was returning to Bengaluru when the accident occurred.

“In the early hours of Friday, we received a call saying my son was injured in an accident. We immediately rushed to Kurnool. One of his legs was fractured when he jumped out of the window. He is currently undergoing treatment, and we want to shift him to Hyderabad for better medical care,” he said.

Rama Devi, mother of Badantra Jayasurya, broke down in tears as her son suffered fractures in both legs. “We were informed about the accident at around 6.30 am. My son recently completed his B.Tech and was doing small jobs in the city. He had just received a job call for an interview and was on his way. He had bought a new laptop worth Rs 1 lakh recently, which was destroyed in the fire, and its EMI is still pending,” she said.

“My husband has already left for the accident site, and I am going there now. We are a middle-class family, and we expect proper treatment for my son. The government must ensure that such incidents do not occur again — only trained drivers should be hired, and stricter safety rules must be enforced.”

Another victim, Keerthi Punnupatti, has reached home safely and is in stable condition, her family members confirmed.

The injured passengers and their parents said that since the bus door would not open, they had to break the glass window, which took nearly five minutes, to escape from the mishap. They noted that if the door had opened, more lives could have been saved.

Another survivor, Ashok, who sustained minor injuries, was too disturbed to speak about the incident. His sister described it as a near-death experience, saying he was still in shock after witnessing the ghastly scenes that he cannot forget.

Passengers who boarded from different pickup points in Hyderabad to travel to Bengaluru were concluding their Diwali holidays and returning to work when the accident occurred, turning what should have been a joyful festival into a painful reminder of loss.

Survivor Ramesh family

Nelakurthi Ramesh, 36

Nelakurthi Sri Laxmi, 29

Nelakurthi Jaishwith, 5

Nelakurthi Akiranandan, one year eight months

Deceased Ramesh family

Galla Ramesh, 39

Galla Anusha, 29

Galla Sashikanth, 7

Galla Manikanth, 5

Injured passengers

Mannempalli Satyanarayana, 27

Badntra Jaisurya, 24

Andoju Naveen Kumar, 26

Kapar Ashok, 27

Punupatti Keerthi, 28

Venugopal Reddy, 24

N Ramesh,

Nelakurthi Sri Laxmi, 29

Nelakurthi Jaishwith, 5

Nelakurthi Akiranandan, one year eight months

List of deceased from Telangana

Meghandh, 25

G. Dathri, 27

Chandana Manga, 23

Sandhya Rani, 43

Anusha Reddy, 22

Giri Rao, 48