Andhra bus tragedy: How did Realme smartphones consignment onboard intensify the blaze ?
PTC News Desk: As the probe into the Kurnool bus fire deepens, investigators have uncovered a new detail — a shipment of 234 Realme smartphones was on board the bus that went up in flames during the accident.
Forensic experts believe that the exploding batteries of these smartphones significantly intensified the fire, which claimed 20 lives.
The consignment, valued at ₹46 lakh, belonged to a Hyderabad-based businessman named Manganath. It was being transported as a parcel to Flipkart’s Bengaluru facility, from where the phones were to be dispatched to customers.
Eyewitnesses said they heard multiple explosions as the phone batteries caught fire.
According to P. Venkataraman, Director-General of the Andhra Pradesh Fire Services Department, the bus’s air-conditioning system batteries also exploded, adding to the intensity of the blaze.
The heat was so extreme that it melted the aluminum flooring of the bus, he said.
Venkataraman added that the fire is believed to have originated in the front section due to a fuel leak. A motorcycle became lodged under the bus, and the spillage of petrol, combined with heat or a spark, likely ignited the flames that rapidly engulfed the entire vehicle.
- With inputs from agencies
