At least 13 people died after a private passenger bus collided with a tipper truck and caught fire early Thursday in Markapuram in Andhra Pradesh. The crash happened at about 6 a.m. local time as the bus, en route from Nirmal in neighbouring Telangana to Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, struck the truck. The impact sparked an intense blaze that quickly engulfed both vehicles.
Officials said roughly 35 passengers were on board; several are feared to have been burned alive. About 20 injured passengers were taken to hospital for treatment. Emergency teams and police remained at the scene to carry out rescue and recovery work and to transport the wounded to medical facilities.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu expressed shock and grief, ordered a formal probe into the incident and asked officials to submit a detailed report, while offering the government’s support to affected families. The Prime Minister’s office announced ex gratia payments of Rs 200,000 for each family of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured.
Local authorities are investigating the cause of the collision and why the fire spread so rapidly. The accident follows a separate, non-fatal bus fire last week in Vizianagaram district after a tyre burst; there were no injuries in that incident.