Kurnool Bus Fire: Exploding Batteries, 234 Phones, And A Fallen Bike Caused Inferno
The horrific Kurnool bus fire that claimed 19 lives was caused by a deadly combination of a fallen motorcycle, exploding bus batteries, and a cargo of 234 new smartphones that likely intensified the blaze, a police investigation has revealed. Contrary to initial reports of a direct collision, authorities now say the Hyderabad-to-Bengaluru sleeper bus ran over a bike that was already lying on the highway after a separate accident, triggering a catastrophic fire.The tragic sequence of events unfolded on National Highway 44 in the early hours of Friday.
Police believe that after the bus ran over the wrecked motorcycle, the bike’s fuel tank burst, and the impact simultaneously caused the bus’s own powerful batteries to explode. “The fire erupted exactly at the main exit door. And behind the main exit door there were bus batteries, two 12 KV batteries. These batteries exploded,” Kurnool Range Deputy Inspector General of Police, Koya Praveen, told news agency PTI.Adding to the inferno was a consignment of 234 brand-new smartphones worth ₹46 lakh, which was being transported in the bus’s luggage compartment. Forensic experts are probing the role these phones played in aggravating the fire.
Andhra Pradesh Fire Services Director General, P Venkataramana, suggested that the lithium batteries in the phones likely burst due to the intense heat. “These new mobile phones stored in the luggage cabin of the bus might have caught fire and exploded, aggravating the blaze,” he said, noting that eyewitnesses reported hearing “popping sounds.”While the Fire Services DG pointed to the smartphones and the bus’s AC system batteries as key factors, the police DIG downplayed the role of the phones.
He identified two primary points of combustion: the ruptured fuel tank of the motorcycle and the subsequent explosion of the bus’s 12 KV batteries. The DIG also noted that highly combustible materials used in the bus’s furnishings, such as metallic paint, further fuelled the fire, giving the sleeping passengers little to no time to escape.
