Kurnool tragedy: over 100 cell phones were being transported in the ill-fated bus

VIJAYAWADA

The V. Kaveri Travels bus that went up in flames near Kurnool on Friday was carrying over 100 mobile phone in the luggage cabin which aggravated the fire, said Andhra Pradesh Forensic Science Laboratory (APFSL) Director G. Pala Raju.

“The private bus driver booked the order for the mobile phones and loaded the boxes in the luggage cabin. All the phones were burnt in the fire and the batteries exploded,” Mr. Pala Raju told The Hindu on Saturday (October 25).

Along with the new mobile phones, many other material were loaded in the luggage cabin, the forensic officials said.

“We collected 83 samples of the burnt materials, including the burnt luggage, engine parts, seat covers, damaged cell phones, doors, melted wind shields and other objects from the spot,” said Mr. Pala Raju.

Of the 16 FSL teams, four are working on physical analysis, two on chemical analysis and the remaining on DNA preservation and matching them with the blood samples of the family members of the deceased, he said.

“The APFSL is trying to find out the other material loaded in the luggage cabin. Forensic experts are trying to find out the primary and secondary cause for the fire in the moving bus,” the APFSL Director said.

In the chemical analysis, the APFSL teams would find out how the fire started and engulfed the bus.

Mr. Pala Raju said the reaction time was very less in the bus fire accident, and there was no chance for the people to save the passengers trapped in the sleeper coach.

“According to the analysis, the bus fire occurred between 2.55 a.m. and 3 a.m.,” he said.