India’s deadly sleeper bus crisis: Over 100 fatalities in a decade of fire tragedies

Over 100 passengers have died in major sleeper bus fire accidents across India in the past decade. Collisions, electrical faults, and poor enforcement of safety norms continue to endanger lives, underscoring the urgent need for regulatory overhaul.

Hyderabad: Fire incidents in buses, especially sleeper AC luxury coaches, and causing a high number of passenger fatalities in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and other major urban centres in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka, have tragically continued to occur in the recent years.

Here are some of the major, high-casualty bus fire incidents from the last few years:

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October, 2025: Kurnool (Hyderabad-Bengaluru highway): 20 fatalities (Private AC luxury sleeper bus): Bus collided with a motorcycle.

October, 2025: Jaiselmar-Jodhpur highway: 22 fatalities: (Private AC sleeper bus): Reportedly due to short circuit in the bus AC

May, 2025: Lucknow, UP: (Private sleeper bus): 5 fatalities: Caught fire suddenly

July 2023: Buldhana, Maharashtra: 25 fatalities: (Private AC Bus) Bus hit a pole and then the road divider

November, 2023: Hubballi, Karnataka: 7 fatalities: (private sleeper bus) Bus hit a road divider and caught fire

June 2022: Navsari, Gujarat: 21 fatalities (Private bus) Bus collides with tanker

October, 2013: Mahabubnagar: 45 fatalities: (Private AC bus) Bus hit a culvert rupturing diesel tank and causing massive fire.