In a tragic road accident, three persons were burnt alive on Saturday and another four were injured after a fatal collision between a van and a bus near Bengaluru. The accident took place on National Highway 206 near Doddaguni in Tumakuru’s Gubbi in the wee hours on Sunday, around 2 am, reported The Hindu.

According to the police, the impact of the collision was such that both vehicles caught fire. There were seven passengers in the van. Once the van caught fire, the police said, three passengers were trapped in it and could not escape. The four other passengers managed to get out of the vehicle on time. 

The bus, which was carrying passengers from Bengaluru to Shivamogga, was gutted in the fire. However, all passengers in the private bus escaped unhurt. They managed to exit the bus through the backdoor and windows once the fire started spreading.

Two fire engines were called to tend the fire. 

The three deceased have been identified as Vasanthkumar (23), Ramaiah (62) and Narasamma (60). The police said all of them were residents of N Hosahalli in Gubbi taluk. 

The other four who managed to escape are Ravikumar, 23, Radhamani, 30, Narasimha Murthy, 40, and Gowramma, 28. The Hindu reported that they were taken to the Tumakuru District Hospital, from where Gowramma was asked to be taken to Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru.

The UNI reported that the van was carrying Narasamma to a hospital in Nittur (in Tumakuru district) and was accompanied by her relatives and her neighbours when the accident took place.

The Gubbi police have registered a case.  

The Hindu quoted a police officer as saying that the police suspect fuel tank had caught fire and exploded, which led to the front portion of the bus to be gutted as well. He added efforts are on to nab the driver of the bus who has been absconding since then.