Hyderabad : At least 13 passengers were killed and 22 others injured after a private travel bus collided with a dumper and caught fire in Andhra Pradesh’s Markapuram district on Thursday morning.
The accident occurred near Rayavaram at around 6:00 AM when a bus operated by Harikrishna Travels, en route from Nirmal in Telangana to Nellore, crashed into a dumper. The impact triggered a massive fire, trapping passengers inside the vehicle. Authorities initially reported 14 fatalities, but the Chief Minister’s Office later confirmed the death toll at 13.
Firefighters took nearly three hours to bring the blaze under control. According to Markapuram Superintendent of Police V. Harshavardhan Raju, a total of 22 injured persons, including the dumper driver, have been admitted to hospital. The bus was carrying 35 passengers at the time of the incident. Officials are continuing efforts to determine the exact cause of the crash.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu expressed grief over the loss of lives. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condoled the tragedy and announced ex gratia compensation from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund, with ₹2 lakh for the families of the deceased and ₹50,000 for the injured.