Five persons were killed when the luxury sleeper bus in which they were travelling caught fire after a speeding truck crashed into it on National Highway 48 in Karnataka’s Chitradurga district early on Thursday.
While the east zone inspector-general of police, Ravikanthe Gowda, had earlier said nine people were killed, citing preliminary investigation, later he and the district police chief confirmed that five persons — four bus passengers and the truck driver — lost their lives.
“Five people have died,” superintendent of police Ranjith Kumar Bandaru said. According to Gowda, three others whose identities are not yet known might have jumped out of the bus.
The accident happened when the container truck jumped a road divider and collided with the bus, Gowda told reporters.
The bus with 32 occupants, including 30 passengers, was on its way from Bengaluru to Gokarna. The vehicle was engulfed in flames under the
impact of the collision and most of the deceased were burnt alive inside the bus at Golarthi in Hiriyur Taluk, Bandaru said.
“According to the investigation so far, it (the truck) hit the diesel tank (of the bus), leading to diesel leak and fire,” Gowda said.
The driver of the bus said he tried to control his vehicle on seeing the speeding truck approaching from the opposite direction, but couldn’t.
“The truck came from the other side of the road divider and hit the bus. It was speeding. I was maintaining a speed of 60-70kmph. I don’t remember what happened after the truck hit the bus,” Rafiq, the bus driver who is undergoing treatment, told reporters.
The bus was engulfed in flames and thick black smoke.
“There was fire all around and the door could not be opened,” a passenger in the bus said, describing the moments after the vehicle caught fire following the collision.
According to police sources, three friends were among the survivors. Two other passengers saved their lives by jumping from the vehicle.
“Of the 12 injured, nine have been shifted to Sira and three to Tumakuru. One of the patients with critical burn injuries has been taken to Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru,” Gowda said.
Another bus with 42 schoolchildren that was behind the luxury bus narrowly escaped the accident.
“The bus carrying schoolchildren hit the bus (involved in the accident) from behind, turned to the other side and veered off the road. Fortunately, no one suffered injuries,” Gowda said.