Bus collision blaze kills 20 in southern India, media say

A fire sparked by a fuel leak following the collision of a private bus and a motorcycle on the route between India's southern tech cities of Bengaluru and Hyderabad killed at least 20 people on Friday.

"Of the 41 passengers, 21 have been rescued," A Siri, a district revenue official, told news agency ANI. "Among the remaining, the bodies of 11 have been identified so far."

According to media reports, the impact of the collision jammed the bus door, trapping the passengers inside.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed sadness at the horrific tragedy and pledged monetary support for the families of the victims.

"My thoughts are with the affected people and their families during this difficult time. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured. An ex-gratia of (INR) 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given (INR) 50,000," he wrote on his official handle on X.