The DNA profiling of victims from the Andhra Pradesh bus fire accident is expected to take 48 hours and should be completed by Saturday, October 27, an official confirmed. Nearly 20 passengers travelling in the private bus and a motorbike rider were tragically burnt to death in the early hours of Friday after the coach collided with a two-wheeler at Chinnatekuru village in Kurnool district. There were 44 passengers in the bus, and several managed to escape the fire.
Kurnool District Collector A Siri said that samples from 19 bodies were collected and sent to the Forensic Sciences Laboratory in Vijayawada.
“I am informed that it (DNA profiling) will take 48 hours. We are also arranging ambulances and vehicles that day so that as and when the results come, we will transport those bodies to their respective places," Siri told the media.
The Collector noted that one of the 19 bodies could not be identified as no one had claimed it, while the DNA profiling will accurately match all the bodies to their family members. Relatives of 16 bodies have already provided samples for DNA profiling, with two more due to reach Vijayawada for the same purpose.
Siri explained that the bodies were completely charred beyond recognition, making positive identification impossible without DNA profiling. "The flesh is completely charred and has become black and only the trunk part is left in most of the cases," she observed.
All the bodies are currently being preserved in Kurnool Government General Hospital (GGH) and will be handed over to their relatives once the DNA results arrive.
The victims include six deceased each from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, two each from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and one each from Odisha and Bihar. The Home Minister said that a total of 39 adults, four children, and an unidentified person were aboard the bus. Two children are among the 19 passengers who perished in the accident, which occurred between 3 and 3:15 am.
The Andhra Pradesh government has announced the formation of 16 investigation teams for a thorough probe into the accident. Home Minister V Anitha, after visiting the accident site, confirmed that 27 people, including both drivers, escaped safely from the private bus, which belonged to V Kaveri Travels and was travelling from Hyderabad to Bengaluru.
Nine passengers were injured, with six undergoing treatment at GGH in Kurnool and three others admitted to a private hospital; all the injured are in a stable condition.
Kurnool SP (Superintendent of Police) Vikrant Patel said the fire was exacerbated by a consignment of cell phones stocked in the luggage rack of the bus. "The bus batteries, presence of flammable furnishings in the bus and the cargo consisting of cell phones aggravated the fire leading to the tragic event," he stated earlier.
The Home Minister said the preliminary investigation revealed that the bus hit a motorbike and dragged it for a few feet. The bike became stuck under the bus, and the spark from the collision combined with fuel leakage from the bike triggered the fire, engulfing the entire bus. The motorbike rider, identified as B Shivshankar (24), a resident of Kurnool, was also killed in the accident.
The second driver of the bus forced open the rear exit door to help trapped passengers escape. The investigation also revealed that two unidentified passengers boarded the bus at Aramghar in Hyderabad, with one later deboarding. The other person is suspected to have died.
The Ulindakonda police in Kurnool registered an FIR against both the bus driver and the motorbike driver. The FIR was based on a complaint from a survivor, N Ramesh, who accused the drivers of negligence and speeding. The case has been registered under Sections 125(a) (endangering human life) and 106(1) (causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Kurnool SP Vikrant Patil said the bus driver told police that the bus hit the bike which was already lying on the road. The driver believes the motorbike rider had already met with an accident and the bus subsequently ran over the bike that was on the road.
Home Minister Anitha announced ₹5 lakh ex-gratia each for the families of the deceased and ₹2 lakh each for the injured, specifically for victims belonging to Andhra Pradesh. She also confirmed that the 16 investigation teams include ten teams of forensic experts dedicated to conducting the DNA tests.
Also read: Andhra bus fire kills 20, many charred beyond recognition
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