In a major tragedy on Christmas Day, at least nine persons are feared to have been burned alive and 21 others injured after a sleeper coach bus caught fire following a collision with a truck in Chitradurga district of Karnataka in the early hours of Thursday.
According to the police, the incident occurred around 2 a.m. at Gorlattu Cross on National Highway 48 when a truck coming from the opposite direction jumped the divider and rammed into the bus after the driver lost control.
Preliminary investigations revealed that nine passengers travelling in the bus are feared dead.
The truck driver also died in the incident. He has been identified as Kuldeep. Several passengers managed to escape from the bus after it caught fire.
IGP (North East) B.R. Ravikanthe Gowda said on Thursday that nine passengers are missing and are feared dead. The exact information would be ascertained once the bodies are retrieved, he stated.
According to the police, the private Sea Bird sleeper coach bus was travelling from Bengaluru to the coastal town of Gokarna when it was hit by the truck. The identities of the deceased are yet to be ascertained, and authorities are collecting details.
Chitradurga district authorities stated that 12 passengers who suffered minor injuries were shifted to Hiriyur taluk hospital, while nine passengers with serious injuries were shifted to a hospital in Tumakuru city. The fire has been extinguished. Superintendents of Police from Tumakuru and Chitradurga districts were at the spot.
Authorities said the bodies still need to be retrieved from the bus, identified, and sent to the mortuary for post-mortem examination. Later, they will be handed over to the relatives.
In total, 21 people were injured in the accident. According to preliminary information, 32 passengers were travelling in the bus. The exact number of deaths will be confirmed after the bodies are recovered, authorities stated.
Police stated that the accident occurred due to the negligence of the truck driver. The driver and cleaner of the bus managed to escape unhurt. The truck driver hailed from Uttar Pradesh.
As a result of the accident, traffic was disrupted for several hours, with a nearly 30-kilometre-long traffic jam reported between the Bengaluru and Sira stretch of the highway.
Authorities also stated that a bus carrying school children on an academic tour, which was travelling behind the affected bus, narrowly escaped the accident. Further investigation is underway, and more details are awaited.
