'Doors Locked, Drivers Nowhere to Be Found'

Speaking to ANI, survivor Jayant Kushwaha said he woke up around 2:30–2:40 a.m. to see fire spreading inside the bus. “At first, I couldn’t believe it was fire. Only two or three people were awake. We shouted to alert everyone, but the doors were locked and the drivers were nowhere to be found. We broke the emergency window and jumped out. Many passengers escaped by smashing the windows,” he recalled.

Another passenger, Ashwin, who was seated behind the driver, said about 20 passengers managed to escape after he alerted the driver to a fire near his seat. “We boarded the bus from Kukatpally to Bengaluru. Around 2:30–3:30 a.m., I noticed flames near the window and immediately informed the driver. The bus was stopped, and we tried to break the windows to get out. Around 20 people escaped, but many couldn’t,” he said.

The tragic incident occurred near Chinnatekur in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district, when the private bus carrying 41 passengers caught fire after colliding with a bike trapped underneath it. Officials confirmed that at least 20 people lost their lives in the blaze.