Kurnool, Oct 25
The explosion of a consignment of 234 smartphones in the Hyderabad-Bengaluru bus that caught fire in Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool district, killing 19 passengers, may have aggravated the blaze, indicated the preliminary investigation by the Andhra Pradesh Police.
The consignment of smartphones worth Rs 46 lakh belonged to a Hyderabad-based businessman and was to be delivered to a company in Bengaluru.
Survivors told police that when flames engulfed the bus, they heard a series of explosions.
The consignment of smartphones of a particular brand was kept in the luggage cabin under the seats. As the fire started under the belly of the bus, where a bike was stuck, the flames spread to the luggage cabin.
The lithium batteries of the handsets exploded, which, forensic experts believe, further intensified the inferno.