A motorcycle struck a bus on a highway in southern India and got lodged underneath, turning the bus into a speeding fireball that killed 20 people, the authorities said Friday.
The collision created sparks that ignited the bus’s gas tank as it was dragged down the highway.
“Ninety percent of the bus has been charred and only the back side tires are left,” said Krishna Goud, an official from neighboring Telangana State, who was at the accident site.
The crash took place early Friday morning. Most of the 44 passengers were asleep, but some were awakened by the smoke and flames and managed to break windows and hurl themselves onto the pavement, Mr. Goud said.
One passenger said afterward that he and others had tried to wake up those aboard. He said the bus’s door was locked, but that they were able to smash an emergency window.
Mr. Goud said that 17 adults and 2 children on the bus had died in the fire. The motorbike rider also died, he said. The bus driver and the driver’s assistant were among the 27 people who survived.
The bus was traveling between the cities of Hyderabad and Bengaluru in southern India. The accident took place in a village near Kurnool, around 130 miles south of Hyderabad.
It was at least the second major bus accident in India in the last two weeks. On Oct. 14, 26 people died in a fire caused by a short circuit in an air-conditioner’s wiring, officials said.
Suhasini Raj is a reporter based in New Delhi who has covered India for The Times since 2014.
Adeel Hassan, a New York-based reporter for The Times, covers breaking news and other topics.
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