India bus crash inferno kills 45 passengers— Official

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GRIEVING: Relatives of those killed in a bus accident react after receiving news from police outside the private bus operator’s office in Hyderabad. — AFP photo

HYDERABAD, India: A speeding bus exploded in a ball of flames after crashing into the central reservation of a southern Indian highway early yesterday, killing 45 passengers as they slept.

Only five people on the vehicle escaped the inferno, including the driver and the cleaner who broke windows and fled before the fuel tank exploded, police said.

“The total number of charred bodies found is 45, including that of a small child,” L. Sarman, a senior district administrative official, told AFP.

“The driver was speeding at about 120-130 kilometres (75-80 miles) an hour. He was driving all night, it seems he may have fallen asleep at the wheel,” said Sarman.

Fatalities were high even by the deadly standards of India, where bus crashes are common, particularly on the treacherous roads of the northern Himalayas.

Police said the driver and cleaner had tried to flee the scene of the accident, which occurred around 5.00 am (2330 GMT Tuesday) between Bangalore and Hyderabad.

They “tried to run, but the police caught them”, local police spokesman Venkateshwarlu, who uses only one name, told AFP.

Relatives of the victims screamed and broke down in tears outside the office of the vehicle operator in Hyderabad, 140 kilometres (85 miles) from the crash site.

Police arrived later to question the owners of Jabbar Travels, which offer buses to cities across the south of India.

Many of the victims were charred beyond recognition. Television pictures showed flames leaping out of the vehicle, which was completely gutted by the time firefighters arrived.

The survivors were being treated in a nearby hospital in Wanaparthy, police said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed “sorrow over the loss of lives in the bus accident”, while the state government asked police to investigate the matter and submit a report.

The Times of India reported that at least five of the victims were software engineers who were travelling home to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival this Sunday. — AFP