Bhubaneswar: The ill-fated private bus which met with a tragic accident after colliding with a two-wheeler on the Hyderabad-Bengaluru highway claiming 19 lives and injuring several others in the wee hours of Friday has been registered in Odisha’s Rayagada district.
The V Kaveri Travels bus, bearing registration number OD01 N9490, was en route from Bengaluru to Hyderabad when the mishap unfolded around 3 am near Ullindakonda in Kurnool district. The impact caused the two-wheeler to get trapped under the bus, triggering a fire that engulfed the bus within minutes.
According to reports, the vehicle, originally purchased in 2018 and re-registered in Rayagada on April 29, 2025, held valid permits including an All-India Tourist Permit until 2026, though it had racked up over ₹23,000 in unpaid traffic fines in Telangana for violations like overspeeding and wrong-side driving. This indicates a history of repeated and dangerous violations of traffic rules.
The bus belonging to a private travel operator had 40 people on board when the accident occurred. As many as 19 passengers came out of the vehicle by breaking windows of the Volvo bus of Vemuri Kaveri Travels, police said.
Deputy Inspector General of Police Koya Praveen said a total of 21 passengers were rescued. Eleven of the deceased have been identified. The death toll may go up as the missing passengers were feared dead.
