14 killed, 27 injured as bus collides with tipper-truck in Andhra, triggers fire

FOurteen passengers died and 27 others were injured on th when the buck private jalopy they were travelling in collided with a tipper-truck, triggering a monumental go off, in Markapuram district of Andhra Pradesh, police said.According to police, the accident occurred around 6 am near a quarry stretch close to Rayavaram village while the bus was negotiating a turn near the quarry road and was hit by the speeding tipper lorry. The bus, belonging to Harikrishna Travels, was travelling from Jagtial in Telangana to Kaligiri in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh.“Preliminary investigation revealed that the steering of the bus got stuck as a result of which the driver lost control and moved into the opposite lane. The tipper truck, which was coming in the lane, also lost control and collided with the bus. The fuel tank of the bus was blown up and caught fire and within minutes. The intensity of the flames was so severe that both vehicles were completely gutted,” Markapuram superintendent of police (SP) V Harshavardhan Raju told reporters.“One of the drivers and the cleaner managed to survive with injuries,” the police said.Home minister Vangalapudi Anitha said that the bus possessed license and insurance till December 2026.Many of the victims were reportedly seated in the rear portion of the bus, where escape became difficult after the collision and the rapid spread of flames. Several passengers are believed to have survived by breaking the window panes and escaping from the front and side sections of the bus.The rescue operation was initially hampered by the intensity of the fire, and emergency teams from the police and fire services rushed to the scene to retrieve victims, clear the wreckage and assist survivors.The deceased have been identified as Ambati Anil (26), his son Leo (5 months), Bandari Padma (28), Muthangi Venkateswarlu (45), Tammashetty Pichamma, Tammashetty Rukmini, Uppu Ramadevi, Podili Mahendra, N Prabhavati (36), Kathi Jayaramulu, Atmakoru Chinna, Devendra Ramaiah, N Chaitra (6) and Jyothi.Also Read | 9 dead, 30 injured in bus-truck collision in MP’s Chhindwara: PoliceThe 27 injured passengers are currently undergoing treatment at different hospitals.Expressing grief over the incident, President Droupadi Murmu extended “deepest condolences to the bereaved families”, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh from the PMNRF to the next of kin of each deceased person. The injured would be given ₹50,000.Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed profound shock and grief over the tragedy and held a teleconference review with senior officials soon after the incident. He also announced an ex gratia of ₹5 lakh each to the families of those killed and ₹2 lakh each to the injured.The survivors recounted the horror of the early morning tragedy.“Aunty, I am dying. Please save me,” recalled 42-year-old P Rattamma, who could not save her 20-year-old nephew.Rattamma, who was travelling with her cousin and nephew, said they were sleeping at the time of the accident. “Suddenly, the bus overturned with a loud sound and we all fell from our berths. By the time we realised... There was fire and smoke everywhere. All that I heard was the loud cry of my relative’s son, ‘Aunty, I am dying’,” she recalled, adding that while she and her cousin escaped through a side door, they couldn’t find the boy.Another survivor, Mounika (20) from Armoor, said she was travelling with her family after a hospital visit with her mother. “I, my mother, my aunt and her two sons were travelling. My cousin and I managed to drag my mother out at the last moment... But we could not save the other two,” she said.She also raised serious concerns on the condition of the bus. “The driver stopped the bus twice for repairs. They did not tell us the actual condition of the vehicle.”One of the passengers -- K Balaraju from Takkellapadu village of Kanigiri -- stood like a symbol of courage by smashing the window panes to help several passengers escape, notwithstanding his injuries. “I broke open the window from the other side of the bus and helped the trapped passengers come out,” said Balaraju, who is undergoing treatment at the Markapur government hospital.A 25-year-old survivor, who was struggling to speak due to severe burns, said: “I don’t know what happened. I was sleeping. I fell onto the road. There were flames on my body.”