‘Everyone Was Screaming for Help’: Survivors Share Harrowing Accounts of Kurnool Bus Blaze

Several passengers who narrowly survived a horrific bus fire on Friday morning have shared chilling accounts of the incident, which claimed 20 lives and left 20 others injured. The sleeper bus, traveling from Hyderabad to Bengaluru, caught fire after colliding with a motorcycle on the outskirts of Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh, police said.

“I boarded the bus at Nampally in Hyderabad after Diwali. I was asleep when I heard a loud noise around 3:30 am. Flames surrounded me and people were screaming for help. I smashed the window near my berth and jumped out. Two others escaped with me,” recounted 31-year-old Aakash, a tech professional from Bengaluru.

Fifty-year-old MG Rama Reddy, who is being treated for burns at Kurnool Hospital, described the chaos inside the bus. “I was asleep when I heard screams. Thick smoke and fire filled the bus. Someone pulled me out through a window. As soon as I stepped out, the entire bus was engulfed in flames. People inside were burnt alive,” he said.

Another survivor, 26-year-old Subrahmanyam from Kakinada, spoke of the struggle to escape amid smoke and confusion. “We broke the rear windows and jumped out with great difficulty,” he said.

Jayant Kushwaha, 27, described the narrow margin between life and death. “I can’t imagine what would have happened if the emergency window hadn’t opened on time. Fire trucks and ambulances arrived nearly an hour later. A policewoman passing by stopped and called for help,” he said.

Other passengers recalled breaking windows or emergency doors to escape, highlighting the desperate measures needed to survive.

The tragedy also claimed the lives of young software professionals returning to Bengaluru after Diwali celebrations. Ghattamaneni Dhatri (27) from Bengaluru, who had been enjoying the festival at her uncle’s home in Hyderabad, lost her life along with Anusha Reddy (22) from Yadadri district.

An entire family of four from Gollavaripalli village in Nellore district — Golla Ramesh (35), his wife Anusha (30), and their children Manvitha (10) and Manish (12) — also perished. “Ramesh’s family had settled in Bengaluru and had been visiting Hyderabad regularly. Now the entire family is gone,” a relative said.

Authorities continue to investigate the accident and provide relief to the victims’ families, as the nation reels from this devastating incident.