Minister for Home Vangalapudi Anitha on Friday said the government has constituted 16 forensic teams to carry out a thorough investigation into the Kurnool bus fire tragedy, in which 19 passengers were charred to death at Chinna Tekuru village of Kalluru mandal of Kurnool district in the early hours of Friday.
Addressing a press conference here, after inspecting the accident site and calling on the injured at the Kurnool Government Hospital, Ms. Anitha said that cases had already been registered over the tragic incident, and strict action would be taken against those responsible.
The Minister said that the bus had a valid All India permit and fitness certificates, but “preliminary probe indicates that combustible materials inside the sleeper coach aggravated the inferno.”
Ms. Anitha announced the formation of a high-level committee, comprising officials from the Police, Transport, and Revenue departments, to probe the circumstances that led to the accident and recommend suitable steps to prevent the recurrence of such tragedies. “It came to our notice that private travel operators at night often encourage carrying goods that are inflammable in nature, posing a grave risk to the safety of passengers,” she said.
The Minister said that there were 36 adults and four children on board when the accident took place. The victims belonged to Bapatla, Nellore, and Konaseema districts. One body was yet to be identified. “Several victims were charred beyond recognition,” Anitha said. She said the special teams would assist with the identification of the bodies and coordinate with the families of the deceased to expedite the DNA tests.
Expressing condolences to the bereaved family members, the Minister said that preliminary investigations hinted that sparks due to the impact of the collision between the bus and the motorcycle, and the impact of the explosion of fuel tanks, sped up the spread of fire, gutting the bus in a few minutes.
Published – October 24, 2025 07:56 pm IST
