Bus overturns, catches fire; 30 charred to death, 25 hurt

Chitardurga, Karnataka : Thirty people, including 15 women and 10 children, were charred to death and 25 others injured when a Karnataka roadways bus overturned and burst into flames near Challakere area  of Chitradurga district on Sunday.

The mishap in which five men were also burnt alive, occurred at around 2.30 am, police said. State Transport Minister R Ashok told reporters that according to preliminary reports, the driver's "negligence" could have caused the accident.

"A total of 30 passengers have died in the accident," district Superintendent of Police Labu Ram said.

Police suspect that the driver of the North-Eastern Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (NEKSRTC) bus, bound for Bangalore, might have dozed off and hit a barricade.

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The bus overturned and its diesel tank caught fire, engulfing the entire vehicle.

While four of the nearly 60 passengers managed to jump out of the bus, 25 others were rescued and admitted to hospitals in Challakere, the SP said. Three of the injured were in a serious condition and have been shifted to a government hospital in Chitradurga.

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Police said nine bodies have been identified so far and they planned to conduct DNA tests on several others as they were charred beyond recognition. Messages have been sent to the relatives of victims in Surapur in Gulbarga district from where the bus had begun its journey.

NEKSRTC has announced a compensation of Rs 2.5 lakh for next of kin of the deceased. Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has also announced Rs one lakh compensation for the families of the dead and Rs 25,000 for those injured.

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Police said the overcrowded bus was carrying mostly poor labourers in search of livelihood in Bangalore following disruption in the NREGA programme in the area where they were residing. The reason for the disruption was not clear.

Narasimha Naik, BJP MLA from Surapur, held authorities responsible for the suspension of the NREGA works, which, he said, had forced the locals to migrate to other places in search of jobs ahead of the monsoon.

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"We will look into the matter and see what went wrong," Yeddyurappa said.

Revenue Minister G Karunakara Reddy, who is also in-charge of Chitradurga district, rushed to the accident site and visited the hospitals.

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Ashok, the Transport Minister, who also visited the injured, said preliminary reports suggested that driver's "negligence" apparently led to the mishap and a probe is on to establish the cause.

"It is suspected that the driver's negligence led to the tragedy and further investigation is on," he said.

Two drivers -- Siddaswamy and Shetty -- and conductor Nandagowda escaped the accident. Efforts are on to nab the drivers who are at large.

NEKRTC Managing Director Shankar Patil earlier said according to preliminary information, "the driver wanted to avoid (hitting) one more bus" and took a right turn and hit a barricade. Due to the fire, the casualties were high, he said.

"As per norms, we had kept two drivers. The name of one driver is Shetty. He has 20 years of experience and always drives on that road. The second driver was having five years of experience," he said.