Major bus tragedy in Karnataka

At least five people were burnt alive in a highway tragedy in Karnataka early this morning. A luxury private bus caught fire on National Highway-48 after a speeding truck rammed it in Chitradurga, trapping the sleeping passengers around 2 am. The fire rapidly engulfed the bus as passengers struggled to escape the burning vehicle.

The truck came from the opposite direction and hit the divider, said Rafiq, the driver of the bus who is now recovering in a hospital, while his aide pointed out that the impact of the collision was on the fuel tank of the bus.

“It was overspeeding. I was maintaining the speed of 60-70 (km/hr) at that time. I saw the vehicle coming from the front. I know only the vehicle (truck) hitting the bus,” Rafiq told reporters, recounting the horrific moment.

He has no clue what happened after that and how he was rescued. Rafiq said he tried to control his vehicle on seeing the speeding truck, but couldn’t.

The collision occurred near Hiriyur when the bus was covering a 300-km journey from Bengaluru to Shivamogga. Most passengers were sleeping at that time, until the loud noise of the crash woke them up.