October 26, 2025

A heartbreaking tragedy struck near Kurnool when a passenger bus ran over a stationary motorcycle, sparking an explosion and a fierce fire that killed 19 people. The drama unfolded when Shiv Shankar and his friend Erri Swamy, both drunk, stopped at a petrol pump at 2.22 am on Friday. After refueling, they rode about 3 kilometers before their bike skidded and crashed into a road divider near Chinna Tekuru. Sadly, Shiv Shankar died on the spot, and Swamy was thrown into bushes with minor injuries. Swamy told police that after realising Shiv had died, he tried moving the bike but couldn't lift it. Two other buses narrowly avoided hitting the fallen bike, but the ill-fated Kaveri Travels bus was not so lucky. It struck the bike, dragging it along the road, and this caused a fiery explosion. The bus driver, Miryala Lakshmaiah, confessed he was driving at 80 to 90 km/h and suddenly faced the bike on the road. Unable to control the bus, he ran over the bike and kept going, unaware that the bike was caught beneath. When the bike’s fuel tank exploded from friction, he finally stopped. He tried opening the jammed doors but had to break side and rear windows to rescue passengers before the fire spread too fast. Panicked, he ran away. Adding to this fiery nightmare was the shocking discovery of 234 brand-new smartphones worth around ₹46 lakh packed in the bus’s luggage compartment. Owned by Hyderabad businessman Manganath, these phones, powered by lithium-ion batteries, exploded due to intense heat in a "thermal runaway", causing a series of loud blasts inside the bus. Many passengers were seated just above where the phones were stored, worsening the tragedy. Police are probing the driver’s documents and the bus operator for illegally carrying commercial goods on a passenger bus. Kurnool Superintendent of Police Vikrant Patil said, "The presence of the mobile consignment likely turned a tragic accident into a catastrophic fire." CCTV footage, witness statements, and careful police reconstruction of the accident paint a chilling picture of how a chain of events turned deadly in moments. The investigation continues as families mourn deeply. This Kurnool bus fire is a grim reminder of how a little carelessness and illegal cargo rules can cause an explosion of pain and loss.

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Tags: Kurnool bus fire, Bus accident, Smartphone cargo, Explosion, Investigation,