A bus fire that killed at least 20 people in southern India was exacerbated by hundreds of smartphones on board, local reports said, citing forensic officials.
A Bangalore-bound bus quickly engulfed in flames after it collided with a motorcycle and its fuel tank ruptured and exploded in the wee hours of Friday.
Eyewitnesses said approximately 40 passengers were struggling to escape as locals rushed to evacuate the survivors.
Forensic experts have now told local media that the bus was carrying 234 mobile phones and that the fire could have been fueled after the lithium-ion batteries inside exploded.
CNN News18 quoted Kurnool Superintendent of Police Vikrant Patel as saying, “The fire was exacerbated by the battery of the bus, the presence of flammable materials in the bus and cargo including cell phones which led to the tragic incident.”
Meanwhile, Director General of Andhra Pradesh Fire Services P Venkataraman said that an electric battery used for the air-conditioning system of the bus also exploded and fueled the fire.
“We saw bones and ash falling from the melted sheets,” he told local media.
The smartphone cost 4.6 million Indian rupees (£39,361; $52,377) and was being shipped from Hyderabad to an e-commerce company in Bengaluru, broadcaster NDTV reported.
Many smartphones contain lithium-ion batteries, which can pose a fire hazard when damaged.
This is because they can experience thermal runaway – uncontrolled temperature rises – that are difficult to stop with conventional firefighting tools. It can also spread to other batteries nearby.
An investigation into possible careless driving has been launched in the accident. The bus driver fled from the spot. A motorcyclist is said to be among the dead.
Buses are a common mode of transport in India, but operators frequently ignore safety rules and overcrowd vehicles, while the country had the world’s highest number of road accident deaths last year.
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