Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], October 24 (ANI): Union Minister G Kishan Reddy on Friday extended condolences over the Kurnool bus tragedy in which at least 20 passengers were killed.

A private bus carrying 41 passengers in Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool caught fire after colliding with a bike that got stuck under the bus, officials confirmed.

Speaking to ANI, Reddy said, 'The bus accident in Kurnool is unfortunate. Many people lost their lives, and several others were injured. I pray to God for the well-being of those who are recovering, and my heartfelt condolences go out to the families of those who died.'

The forensic team rushed to the site on National Highway 44 on Friday morning.

Andhra Pradesh Governor S Abdul Nazeer on Friday expressed deep anguish over the Kurnool bus fire accident.

According to a statement issued by the Andhra Pradesh Raj Bhavan, Governor Nazeer has directed the district authorities to provide necessary medical care to the injured passengers. The Governor offered his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family members.

Earlier today, the passenger Jayant Kushwaha, who was travelling from Hyderabad in a private bus that caught fire, narrated the horrific ordeal, saying that he remained in disbelief after witnessing fire onboard as soon as he woke up.

Jayant woke up around 2:30 AM only to find himself and others trapped in a fire on board since the doors remained locked. He, along with two or three other passengers, attempted to break emergency windows to escape the bus.

'Around 2:30-2:40 AM, the bus stopped, and I woke up and I saw that the bus caught fire. I couldn't believe that it was fire. I realised moments after that it was fire. Only two three people were awake. We yelled fire and woke everybody up. The doors were locked. We couldn't locate the drivers. We broke the emergency window as the main door was locked. We jumped out of the window. Many people jumped out of the bus by breaking the windows,' Jayant told ANI.

Another eyewitness of the incident, Ashwin, said that around 20 people managed to get out of the bus as it caught fire, but others were unable to escape. Ashwin said that he was the one to alert the driver about the fire on the window side.'

Last night, we boarded the bus at Kukatpally to travel to Bengaluru. I was seated behind the driver's seat. After a long journey, between 2:30 and 3:30 AM, I noticed a fire on the window side and immediately alerted the driver. The bus was stopped right away. Meanwhile, we tried to break the windows to escape. Around 20 people managed to get out of the bus, but the others were unable to escape,' Ashwin said. (ANI)