HYDERABAD, India — A bus crashed into a highway barrier in southern India and erupted in flames early Wednesday, killing 42 passengers — many of them burned alive in the inferno, officials said.
The driver and six others managed to escape through a window, Deputy Police Inspector General Naveen Kumar Chand said. The other passengers, apparently asleep at the time of the crash, were trapped inside.
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The bus, operated by Jabbar Travels, had been traveling overnight from Bangalore to Hyderabad and was passing another vehicle when it crashed into the roadside barrier in Mehabubnagar in southern Andhra Pradesh state, Chand said.
The diesel tank then caught fire, and flames engulfed the bus, according to Pradeep, a police official who goes by one name.
Angry relatives gathered at both the Bangalore and Hyderabad offices of Jabbar Travels, forcing police to send officers to keep order. Police were also searching for the company’s owners in Bangalore, the main city in the neighboring southern state of Karnataka.
India has the highest annual road death toll in the world, according to the World Health Organization. More than 110,000 people are killed every year in road accidents across India, according to police.
Most crashes are blamed on reckless driving, poorly maintained roads and aging vehicles.
Wednesday’s crash happened more than 800 miles (1,200 kilometers) from the Indian capital, New Delhi.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The driver and six others managed to escape through a window, Deputy Police Inspector General Naveen Kumar Chand said. The other passengers, apparently asleep at the time of the crash, were trapped inside.
Winds batter Europe, Mount Everest sky dive, Hawaii same-sex marriage hearings, world’s tallest man weds and more.
Latest stories from Foreign
Judges in Muslim Brotherhood trial in Egypt step down; Russia brings new charges against Alexei Navalny.
William Wan Suspects may be Uighurs, an ethnic group that has clashed with China’s government in recent years.
Loveday Morris and Karen DeYoung The World Health Organization says there is a high risk that the disease will spread.
Chico Harlan On the divided Korea Peninsula, even the homecomings can be bitter.
Simon Denyer While the cause of the crash remains unclear, China censors reporting, social media posts about the incident.
The bus, operated by Jabbar Travels, had been traveling overnight from Bangalore to Hyderabad and was passing another vehicle when it crashed into the roadside barrier in Mehabubnagar in southern Andhra Pradesh state, Chand said.
The diesel tank then caught fire, and flames engulfed the bus, according to Pradeep, a police official who goes by one name.
Angry relatives gathered at both the Bangalore and Hyderabad offices of Jabbar Travels, forcing police to send officers to keep order. Police were also searching for the company’s owners in Bangalore, the main city in the neighboring southern state of Karnataka.
India has the highest annual road death toll in the world, according to the World Health Organization. More than 110,000 people are killed every year in road accidents across India, according to police.
Most crashes are blamed on reckless driving, poorly maintained roads and aging vehicles.
Wednesday’s crash happened more than 800 miles (1,200 kilometers) from the Indian capital, New Delhi.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.