Two bus fires in 9 days expose alarming safety lapses, risks in sleeper coaches

Two bus fires in nine days—Kurnool and Jaisalmer —claimed over 40 lives, highlighting serious safety gaps in sleeper and luxury coaches. Experts cite poor design, flammable interiors, faulty electrical systems, and lax regulatory enforcement as major causes

Hyderabad: Two devastating bus fire tragedies within nine days, one in Andhra Pradesh and another in Rajasthan, have raised concerns and drawn attention to the alarming safety lapses in sleeper and luxury buses.

In the latest tragedy, 20 people were killed when a private sleeper bus travelling from Hyderabad to Bengaluru caught fire after colliding with a motorcycle in Kurnool. The fire spread rapidly, engulfing the vehicle before most passengers, asleep in their berths, could escape.

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Just nine days earlier, on October 14, another bus blaze in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer district claimed 22 lives. The bus bound for Jodhpur burst into flames after its emergency exit jammed, trapping dozens inside.

Experts say design flaws, poor regulation, and rampant use of unauthorised modifications were turning these vehicles into fire traps on wheels. Officials say such high casualty counts are far more common in overnight sleeper services than in regular day buses.

“While day buses have multiple doors, openable windows, and wider aisles that aid quick evacuation, luxury and sleeper coaches often have a single front door and sealed glass panels that cannot be opened during emergencies,” said a senior official of Regional Transport.

Passengers have very little time to react because most are asleep when a fire breaks out.

“In many sleeper buses, smoke gets trapped inside due to closed windows and curtains, leading to suffocation before flames even reach the passengers,” the official added.

Safety experts also point to a deeper structural problem and the way many luxury buses are built. While some automobile giants offer factory-built models with certified safety standards, a large share of sleeper buses on Indian roads are locally assembled in private workshops.

Operators often purchase bare chassis and get the body, interiors and wiring customised, a practice that introduces fire hazards through faulty electrical work, flammable upholstery, and weak structural integrity.

Investigations into past accidents have shown that aftermarket fittings such as inverters, extra lighting, and air-conditioning units often overload electrical systems, triggering short circuits. The extensive use of foam mattresses, thick curtains, and plastic linings adds more fuel for flames and releases toxic gases when burnt.

Authorities admit that enforcement of safety norms have been lax. Regular audits, fire-safety certifications, and testing of emergency exits are rarely conducted.

“In most cases, emergency hammers to break windows are missing, and exit doors are found jammed or blocked by seats. Primary reasons for such tragedies are non-usage of fire-resistant materials, carrying general merchandise in sleeper buses,” stated another senior transport official from Khairatabad RTO.

Following the Kurnool and Jaisalmer incidents, Transport Departments in several States have initiated safety checks and are considering mandatory installation of fire detection and suppression systems in long-distance coaches.

“The tragedies at Jaisalmer and Kurnool should serve as a wake-up call. Until governments bring sleeper bus construction and inspection under strict regulation, these accidents will keep repeating,” said Pruthvi, a regular sleeper bus traveller from Kukatpally.