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Kurnool, Oct 25 (IANS) A consignment of 234 smartphones caught fire on a Hyderabad-Bengaluru bus in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district, killing 19 passengers, after an explosion that could have caused the fire, preliminary investigation by Andhra Pradesh Police has revealed.
The consignment of smartphones worth Rs 46 lakh belonged to a Hyderabad-based businessman and was to be delivered to a company in Bengaluru.
Survivors told police that they heard a series of explosions as the bus burst into flames.
A consignment of smartphones of a particular brand was kept in the luggage cabin under the seats. As soon as the fire broke out in the lower part of the bus, where a bike was stuck, the flames spread to the luggage cabin.
Forensic experts believe that the handset’s lithium batteries exploded, fueling the fire.
According to Andhra Pradesh Fire Services Department Director General P. Venkataraman, electrical batteries used for the air conditioning system of the bus also exploded, further fueling the fire.
He said the heat was so intense that the aluminum sheets on the floor of the bus melted. The officer said he saw bones and ash falling from the melted sheets.
Sixteen teams of police and forensic department are investigating the fire from all angles.
Ten teams of forensic experts are conducting DNA tests on the burnt remains of the passengers.
State Home Minister V. Anita said four teams have also been formed to investigate the nature of the blasts. Two teams are engaged in chemical analysis.
Preliminary investigation also revealed that the fire broke out after the front part of the bus collided with a bike, which got stuck under it.
Petrol leaking from the bike might have caused a fire along with heat or spark, which engulfed the entire bus in no time.
The bus driver told the police that the bus had hit the bike lying on the road. The driver believes that the biker had already met with an accident and the bus passed over the bike lying on the road.
V Kaveri Travels bus had left from Hyderabad on Thursday night. It met with a horrific accident near Chinnatekur village on the outskirts of Kurnool between 3 am and 3.15 am on Friday.
19 passengers, including two children, were burnt to death, while 27 passengers managed to get out.
The deceased include six from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, two each from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and one each from Odisha and Bihar. Another deceased has not been identified yet.
–IANS
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