Police personnel investigate the spot after a Hyderabad-bound private bus caught fire following a collision with a two-wheeler near Chinnatekur in Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh on October 24, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI
At around 3.30 a.m. on Friday (October 24, 2025), a luxury private bus travelling from Hyderabad to Bengaluru caught fire after colliding with a two-wheeler in the opposite direction at Chinna Tekuru village in Kalluru mandal of Kurnool district. At least 19 passengers were charred to death.
Reports mentioned that flames erupted from the front portion of the bus immediately after the impact, and it spread rapidly, leading to the explosion of the fuel tank. As many as 27 people, including two drivers, escaped with or without injuries, and some survivors of the incident maintained that the drivers of the ill-fated bus should have responded in a proper manner and alerted the passengers. They said more lives could have been saved if the drivers managed to open the doors of the bus.
The injured survivors were rushed to the Government General Hospital in Kurnool.
In 2023, there were 115 deaths due to bus accidents in Andhra Pradesh, according to the Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India 2023 report released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). These were 1.41% of the overall deaths (8,137) due to road accidents in the State that year.
Deaths due to accidents of two wheelers were over 50% of total deaths due to road accidents in Andhra Pradesh as shown in the graphic below.
Deaths due to bus and two-wheeler accidents saw a decrease in 2023 in the State, as compared to 2022. Deaths due to bus accidents reduced to 115 in 2023, from 221 in 2022, whereas deaths due to two-wheeler accidents reduced to 3,709 in 2023 from 4,139 in 2022
In 2023, two-wheelers were the leading cause of deaths due road accidents in Andhra Pradesh, followed by pedestrians (1,645), four wheelers like SUV/cars/jeep/etc. (715), and three wheelers or auto rickshaws (646).
Published – October 24, 2025 09:10 pm IST
