A family of four from Andhra Pradesh, residing in Bengaluru, are suspected to be among the 20 people reported dead in a fire that gutted a Hyderabad-Bengaluru bus near Kurnool in the early hours of Friday.

A man identified as Ramesh, his wife and two young children had reportedly travelled to their hometown of Hyderabad for Diwali, and were returning to Bengaluru when the incident occurred. A confirmation of their deaths is awaited, according to the Karnataka Police.

The fuel tank of the private bus on its way to Bengaluru caught fire following an accident involving a scooter. The bus with 41 passengers is reported to have caught fire instantaneously, charring several passengers to death.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah , Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and other lea

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