Did 234 smartphones make the Kurnool bus fire more deadly?

Fresh details have emerged in the tragic Kurnool bus fire, with reports suggesting that a cargo of 234 smartphones might have worsened the flames that engulfed a Bengaluru-bound private bus, claiming at least 20 lives in the early hours of Friday.

The accident occurred at Chinnatekuru village in Kurnool district when the bus collided with a motorbike, leading to a fire that left 19 passengers and the biker dead. The bus had been carrying 44 passengers, several of whom managed to escape.

Smartphones may have worsened the blaze

According to an NDTV report, the vehicle was transporting a shipment of 234 smartphones valued at around ₹46 lakh. The consignment, owned by a Hyderabad-based businessman named Manganath, was en route to an e-commerce firm in Bengaluru for further distribution.

Forensic experts suspect that lithium-ion batteries from the smartphones may have fuelled the blaze, as mentioned in the report. Witnesses recalled hearing a series of battery explosions as the devices caught fire, indicating that the batteries could have accelerated the spread of the flames.

District Collector and Police highlight contributing factors

Kurnool District Collector A Siri said that she saw a few boxes of unburnt mobile phones.

Kurnool Superintendent of Police Vikrant Patel stated that several factors — including the bus’s own batteries, its flammable interiors, and the smartphone consignment — worsened the incident. “The bus batteries, presence of flammable furnishings in the bus and the cargo consisting of cell phones aggravated the fire leading to the tragic event,” said the SP in an earlier statement.

DNA sampling to identify victims

Meanwhile, the DNA profiling of victims of Andhra Pradesh bus fire accident will take 48 hours and is expected to be completed by October 27, said an official on Saturday.

Siri said samples from 19 bodies were collected and sent to the Forensic Sciences Laboratory in Vijayawada.

"I am informed that it (DNA profiling) will take 48 hours. We are also arranging ambulances and vehicles that day so that as and when the results come we will transport those bodies to their respective places," Siri said.

Out of the 19 bodies, one could not be identified as no one claimed it, she said, while the DNA profiling will exactly match the bodies to its family members.

Relatives of 16 bodies have given their samples for the DNA profiling while two more are reaching Vijayawada today for this purpose, she said.

According to Siri, bodies were completely charred beyond recognition and without doing DNA profiling their identity cannot be established correctly.

The flesh is completely charred and has become black and only the trunk part is left in most of the cases, she observed.

Currently, all the bodies are being preserved in Kurnool Government General Hospital (GGH) and they will be handed over to their relatives once the DNA samples arrive, she said.

(with inputs from PTI)