Bus fire in Kurnool destroys 234 expensive mobile phones worth Rs. 46 lakh

A fire on the Vemuri Kaveri Travels bus in Kurnool destroyed 234 smartphones worth nearly Rs 46 lakh sent by Hyderabad businessman Manganath. Battery explosions, including mobile and AC batteries, intensified the blaze. Eyewitnesses reported loud explosive sounds during the fire

Hyderabad: A total of 234 expensive smartphones were gutted in a fire on the Vemuri Kaveri Travels bus, which caught fire in Kurnool on Friday.

As per reports, Manganath, a businessman from Hyderabad, had sent the mobile phone boxes worth nearly Rs 46 lakh as a parcel in the bus.

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Upon learning about the accident, Manganath rushed from Hyderabad to the accident site and was deeply distressed.

Forensic experts said that the explosion of the mobile batteries could have been one of the reasons for the intensification of the fire. Eyewitnesses also stated that they heard explosive sounds as the phone batteries burst in the flames.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Fire Services Director General P Venkataramana said that new mobile phones kept in the bus’s luggage compartment had fuelled the fire further.

Apart from the mobile batteries, the electric batteries installed for the bus’s air-conditioning system also exploded.