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Relatives of some of the people who died in a bus accident receive news from the police at a bus operator’s office in Hyderabad. – AFP

NEW DELHI. – Forty-five people died when the bus they were travelling in caught fire after an accident on a road between the southern Indian cities of Bengaluru and Hyderabad yesterday.
The privately operated Volvo bus was reportedly overtaking a car when it hit a stone culvert covering a drain. The fire was so intense that only five passengers, along with the vehicle’s driver and cleaner, managed to escape.

“It seems the bus was travelling at a high speed when its fuel tank hit the roadside culvert and caught fire,” said a local police officer, Srinivas Reddy.

“The passengers in the bus were burned beyond recognition. The entire bus has been gutted.”
Road deaths are commonplace in India. According to the World Health Organisation, India’s toll of 105 725 last year was the highest in the world. Nevertheless, the deaths of so many people in a Volvo bus has caused considerable shock and concern.

Sohanjeet Randhawa, marketing head of Volvo Buses India, told the Hindu newspaper that the accident was being studied from all angles, including road design.

“Our team has already landed at the accident spot, and we are still in the process of gathering all the relevant information,” Randhawa said.

An unidentified survivor said most of the passengers were sleeping when the bus caught fire.
“Some of us tried to break open the window glass, but were unable to do so,” the person said.

“I immediately moved towards the emergency exit window and broke it and managed to jump out of the bus.”
The bus went up in flames at about 5:15am, and a witness said the fire burned for at least half an hour. Only a few could be saved, including the cleaner of the bus, who was pulled out by a motorist who stopped to help.

Among the charred remains, rescuers found the bodies of a mother and child clinging to each other. In most cases it was difficult to determine whether a charred body had been a male or female passenger, another police officer said.

“The identification of the deceased will be determined after conducting DNA tests and collecting blood samples of the relatives,” he said.
The bus was running between two of India’s leading computing hubs, and it is believed that among the dead may have been software engineers working for major IT companies.

The prime minister, Manmohan Singh, expressed his sorrow over the accident. – guardian.co.uk.