At least 12 people have died and several were injured after a bus they were travelling in caught fire following a collision with a motorcycle on a highway in Andhra Pradesh in southern India, reports say.
The motorcycle was trapped under the bus, rupturing its fuel tank and triggering an explosion. The Bangalore-bound bus carrying about 40 passengers was engulfed in flames within minutes early on Friday.
Reports cited eyewitnesses saying they heard passengers screaming for help as locals rushed to pull out survivors. Some managed to escape through an emergency exit window.
The bus driver and cleaner fled the scene. Authorities have opened an investigation into possible fuel leakage and negligent driving.
Most passengers, who had boarded the bus from Hyderabad city, were asleep when the fire broke out, media reports said, adding that authorities were yet to confirm the exact death toll. The motorcylist was among the dead.
