Some of the survivors of the horrific bus accident at Chinna Tekur in Kurnool district claimed that the drivers of the ill-fated bus should have reacted in the right way and alerted the passengers inside the bus. They said more lives could have been saved if the drivers had managed to open the bus doors.
One of the passengers, Aswin, said he boarded the bus near Kukatpally around 9.40 pm on Thursday. Aswin’s berth was just behind the driver’s seat. According to Mr. Aswin, the bus stopped at Jadcherla for a tea break and then proceeded towards Bengaluru. “I woke up to a sound like an explosion and found smoke inside the bus. We tried to break the door and rush out, but we couldn’t,” he said.
Mr Aswin said he and other passengers started shouting and alerted others to the engulfing flames. “I could not see the driver spraying water from a bottle on the fire but it failed to control the fire,” he said, adding that he started shouting to alert other passengers to break the windows. Mr. Aswin got out of the driver’s door and was able to save his life. He felt that the drivers should have alerted the occupants of the vehicle and broken down the main entrance door.
Another passenger, Surya, said that a few minutes after the vehicle stopped on the shoulder, the bus started engulfing in smoke. “It was becoming difficult for us to breathe and see because of the smoke. Some people coming behind the bus broke the back windows in their cars, which saved our lives,” he said.
Akash, 31, who works in a paint company in Karnataka, was traveling in the U3 berth. “I did not see the bus driver after the bus caught fire. They should have alerted us but they were nowhere near the bus,” he said.
MG Rama Reddy, a 50-year-old passenger traveling in the U 19 berth, said he could have saved his life if he had traveled in the back of the bus. “The alleyway was full of smoke and I couldn’t see anything. I reached the back side window where people were jumping out. Someone pulled me out and I fell to the ground with minor facial injuries,” he said.
Published – 24 Oct 2025 21:18 IST
