Kurnool Tragedy Has Traces of 2013 Palem Bus Mishap

Hyderabad: Suspecting similarities between the Kurnool bus accident — in which 19 passengers were charred to death — and the 2013 Palem bus tragedy that killed 45 passengers, former Crime Investigation Department (CID) chief and Bapatla MP Tenneti Krishna Prasad said that safety lapses, structural design flaws, and negligence may have caused both mishaps.

Recalling the Palem tragedy that occurred on October 30, 2013, Krishna Prasad, who led the investigation into the 2013 Palem accident and prepared a comprehensive report and filed a 400-page chargesheet on the incident, said that the faulty design of Volvo buses was one of the key factors leading to the fire.

The bus, belonging to Jabbar Travels and heading to Bengaluru from Hyderabad, caught fire after hitting a culvert on National Highway-44 near Palem in Mahbubnagar in 2013. Of the 45 victims, at least 19 were information-technology professionals.

Explaining the findings of the report, Prasad said that the bus’s main fuel tank, with a capacity of 300 litres, and an auxiliary diesel tank of similar capacity were positioned adjacent to the battery compartment. When the bus struck the culvert, an iron railing pipe pierced the compartment, causing sparks that ignited the fuel.

He noted striking similarities between that accident and the Kurnool accident, which also claimed 19 lives and is still under investigation. “In both cases, questions arise about how the bus was designed — the placement of the fuel tank, battery compartment, and other equipment. Operators have clearly neglected safety norms,” he said. “Emergency exits were sealed, and additional driver seats were reportedly sold to passengers.”

The former IPS officer also pointed out that many buses are built with highly flammable materials such as PVC and vinyl instead of safer alternatives like metal flooring. “Several vehicles are fitted with extra sleeper berths beyond capacity, further restricting exit routes,” he said.

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