India, Oct. 24 -- At least 20 passengers were charred to death, while another 12 passengers managed to escape with minor injuries when a private travel bus, which they were travelling in, was completely gutted in a massive fire near Chinnatekur village in Kallur mandal of Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool district early on Friday morning, the police said.

The incident occurred at around 3:30 am, when the bus, belonging to Kaveri Travels, travelling from Hyderabad to Bengaluru with approximately 44 passengers, rammed into a motorcycle on National Highway 44, close to the outskirts of Kurnool city.

"The two-wheeler got trapped under the bus and hit the fuel tank, leading to an immediate explosion and rapid spread of flames throughout the vehicle,"...