Woman from Hyderabad charred to death, three injured after bus catches fire in Gadwal

The victim, identified as Malathi, an employee of Indian Institute of Rice Research, was a native of Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh and was residing at Mehdipatnam in Hyderabad

Gadwal: A 45-year-old woman was charred to death while three others were injured after the private bus in which they travelling overturned and caught fire near Beechupally around 2.45 am on Saturday.

The victim, identified as Malathi, an employee of Indian Institute of Rice Research, was a native of Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh and was residing at Mehdipatnam in Hyderabad.

---

The incident occurred on the Hyderabad-Bengaluru Highway, when the Jagan Travels bus was heading towards Chitoor from Hyderabad. The bus driver was reportedly drowsy and the vehicle was being driven at high speed. He is said to have lost control after which the bus swerved off the road and overturned, Gadwal SP Riti Raj said.

The passengers managed to escape from the bus by breaking the emergency glass windows. However, Malathi’s hand got stuck in the window and she got scared, following which efforts of other passengers who tried to help her too went in vain. She was burnt alive as the flames engulfed the bus quickly.

Three passengers suffered minor injuries in the accident and while the remaining 40-odd passengers in the bus escaped unhurt. Soon after learning about the incident, a fire tender was pressed into service to douse the flames. The bus was completely gutted in the flames.

Another passenger Aruna was fortunate to recover her bag with 10 tolas of gold ornaments. After the bus fell on its side and caught fire, Aruna had lost the bag and had complained about it to the police. After searching extensively at the spot, the police recovered the bag, which was damaged severely by the flames, but the ornaments did not melt. The bag was handed over to Aruna’s son after conducting the panchnama, DSP Venkateswarlu said, adding that a case was booked and investigation was on.