Bodies of bus fire victims to be handed over after DNA profiling

Metro India News | Rayavaram

Bodies of victims in the Andhra Pradesh bus fire accident will be handed over to their families after DNA profiling, with samples from 14 bodies sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory and reports awaited, a senior police official said on Friday.

As many as 14 people were killed and several others injured after a private travel bus collided with a tipper lorry and burst into flames in Markapuram district on Thursday morning.

"We are expecting the (DNA) reports by today afternoon, and once we receive them, we will be able to identify the bodies and hand them over to the families accordingly," Markapuram district in-charge superintendent of police V Harshavardhan Raju told PTI.

The accident occurred between 5.30 am and 6 am near Rayavaram village on the Podili road when the bus rammed into a dumper truck, colliding with its diesel fuel tank and triggering a massive blaze.

The bus was heading to Kaligiri in Nellore district from Jagityal in Telangana at the time of the accident.The samples, which were collected to establish the identity of the charred victims, reached the FSL late on Thursday.

Raju said the identification process is crucial as several bodies were severely burnt in the accident, making visual identification difficult.Police are coordinating with forensic experts to expedite the process and ensure that the mortal remains are returned to the respective families at the earliest, the SP added.

Driver, Owner arrested as probe points to negligence

Metro India News | AMARAVATI

The devastating bus accident near Markapur in Andhra Pradesh, which claimed 14 lives, has sent shockwaves across the Telugu states. As the tragedy drew widespread grief, police have intensified their investigation, with initial findings pointing to driver negligence as the primary cause of the accident.

Acting swiftly, police have arrested the bus driver Yuvaraju and the vehicle owner Harikrishna. A case has been registered against the driver under Section 304A (causing death by negligence), and he has been named as the main accused in the case.

According to investigators, the accident occurred when the bus collided with a tipper lorry, leading to a catastrophic fire. In the blaze that followed, 13 passengers were burnt alive on the spot, while another victim, a young boy, succumbed to injuries during treatment, taking the total death toll to 14.

Police are currently interrogating both the driver and the owner to ascertain further details, including possible lapses in vehicle maintenance, compliance with safety norms, and the sequence of events leading to the crash. Following the completion of questioning, the accused are expected to be produced before a court, which is likely to remand them to judicial custody.

The incident has once again raised serious concerns over road safety standards, driver accountability, and enforcement of transport regulations, with authorities under pressure to ensure stricter compliance to prevent such tragedies in the future.