Hyderabad: A private travel bus with 38 passengers caught fire near Karmanghat Hanuman Temple in Hyderabad, Telangana, in the early hours of Thursday, September 24.
The bus was travelling towards Srisailam when it caught fire. There was no loss of life and emergency services were immediately sent to the spot after receiving a call at 2:15 a.m.
The incident took place close to Karmanghat Hanuman Temple area as the bus was on its journey to Srisailam. When the fire erupted, the vehicle was in motion, prompting the emergency response. The number of passengers made the incident a potentially serious situation but authorities said all 38 passengers were safe and no casualties were reported.
A fire department official said the bus was travelling when it caught fire. A preliminary suspicion, the official said, was that an electrical short circuit might have caused the fire. But the exact cause would be determined only after the appropriate authorities took a closer look.
Emergency services were notified at 2:15 am and firefighters arrived at the scene. The immediate priority for the fire department was to control the fire and get the passengers out of danger. Since the bus was in motion at the time of the incident, the quick response prevented the report of deaths.
The bus was heading to Srisailam, a prominent pilgrimage town in Andhra Pradesh. Srisailam is visited by many people throughout the year, particularly pilgrims from Telangana and neighboring states. Private travel buses are also used by groups and individual travellers.
The incident is a reminder to drivers that safety in a passenger bus and regular electrical checks are very important. Electrical faults can be a fire hazard in long distance vehicles. In this case, there was an electrical short circuit suspected but the first assessment of this should not be considered as a cause until the investigation is complete.
Passengers traveling overnight by bus are generally dependent on the crew and emergency plans in case of an unexpected situation. A fire in a moving passenger vehicle will present a great danger since passengers have limited time to react. But, in this case, all 38 passengers were not injured.
Karmanghat is located in Hyderabad and is known for the Karmanghat Hanuman Temple, a very important religious site in the city. It also falls along the routes of vehicles travelling towards southern destinations from Hyderabad.
Details of the bus situation and the extent of damage were not available in the information released by the fire official. More investigation will be done to discover how the fire started and whether mechanical or electrical issues were involved.
A safety review on the vehicle's maintenance records and other safety aspects can also be conducted. Such checks might help determine whether an electrical problem was a single incident and not a systemic one and if so, which of the factors was involved in the problem.
The incident is a reminder of the need for passenger vehicles to be regularly checked for safety, especially when traveling long distances. Fire extinguishers, emergency exits and other safety equipment can be crucial to passengers responding to vehicle fires.
#WATCH | Hyderabad, Telangana | A private travel bus heading to Srisailam caught fire near the Karmanghat Hanuman Temple in the early hours today.
— ANI (@ANI) September 24, 2026
A fire official says, "A moving private travel bus caught fire near the Karmanghat Hanuman Temple. There were 38 passengers on… pic.twitter.com/BWhHPQCYEG
The officials are aware so far that a private travel bus carrying 38 passengers caught fire near Karmanghat Hanuman Temple on a journey towards Srisailam and no casualties have been reported. Fire officials received the emergency call at around 2:15 am and arrived at the scene.
The suspected electrical short circuit is still under investigation but further examination would be needed to determine the confirmed cause of the fire.
