Bengaluru, Oct 24 : Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar has demanded a high-level probe into the bus fire tragedy in Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool district on Friday, which claimed 19 lives.

Speaking to reporters at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru, Shivakumar said he suspects mischief or negligence in the bus tragedy in Andhra Pradesh.

Citing an earlier incident, he said, "Last week, a similar incident occurred when a private operator was running a vehicle from Bengaluru to Hyderabad, which caught fire in the Andhra Pradesh region. I recently went to Raichur, and people showed me the video. One party cadre, a District President from Raichur, went to the driver, shouted at him, and held him by the neck to alert him. All passengers got down on time. About 20 medical students were on board, and fortunately, all of them escaped safely with minor injuries. Their laptops were lost, though."

He alleged that even then, precautions were not taken, and the police did not take any action.

Shivakumar said that he has asked state Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy and Home Minister G. Parameshwara to look into the incident, as the transport operator is from Bengaluru.

Shivakumar urged the Andhra Pradesh government to conduct a thorough investigation and ensure proper precautionary measures.

Meanwhile, Venu, a software professional from Bengaluru, who was travelling in the ill-fated bus and managed to escape, said, "My fellow passengers and I managed to break the emergency exit glass and escape. However, we could not save those who died in front of our eyes. We could do nothing."

Venu, who was returning to Bengaluru after visiting his sister, was travelling in seat number L-13. "At 3 a.m., the bus stopped, and when it started moving again, the fire engulfed it. We could hardly breathe. One passenger broke the emergency glass with his hand, injuring himself, but he helped 15 passengers to get out," he recounted.

"The bus first collided with a two-wheeler and then caught fire. We witnessed co-passengers burning alive inside the bus. We stood about five metres away in a state of helplessness. One hour later, I got into another bus and reached Bengaluru," Venu recounted.

/IANS