Chitradurga, Dec 25 : Four bodies were recovered from the bus, which caught fire after being hit by a container truck in Karnataka's Chitradurga district on Thursday.

The body of the container truck driver has also been recovered.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that three bus passengers are missing, and the police are hopeful that they are alive.

So far, five deaths have been confirmed in the incident.

Clarifying the confusion surrounding the number of deaths in the tragedy, IGP (East) B.R. Ravikanthe Gowda said, "As per the list obtained from the bus company, 32 people, including the driver and the assistant, were travelling in the bus. Twenty-five people are currently being treated in hospitals. Four bodies have been recovered from the bus, and contact has not yet been established with the remaining three persons.â??

"Deaths of four passengers and the truck driver have been confirmed. All five bodies are completely charred and beyond recognition. The bodies have been sent for DNA profiling and post-mortem examination," he said.

"Of the three missing persons, the mobile phone of one is ringing, but the call is not being answered. The other two mobile numbers are not reachable. We suspect they may have lost their mobile phones during the accident. We are hopeful that they are alive," he added.

"It was important for us to establish the identities of the four passengers whose bodies were recovered. All facts related to the incident will be ascertained during further investigation," IGP Gowda said.

Meanwhile, Nalini, the mother of survivor Isha, told the media in Bengaluru that her daughter is being shifted to a private hospital in the city. She was travelling in the rear berth of the bus. After the collision, the rear window broke, and she, along with others, jumped out of the bus through the window to save her life.

Nalini said her daughter shared that while jumping out, she saw several passengers struggling inside the bus. After seeing blood, Nalini was traumatised and sat by the roadside. Later, the bus exploded.

According to the police, the incident occurred around 2 a.m. at Javanagondanahalli village near Gorlattu Cross on National Highway 48 when a truck coming from the opposite direction jumped the divider and rammed into the bus after the driver lost control.

The truck driver also died in the incident. He was identified as Kuldeep. Several passengers managed to escape from the bus after it caught fire.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy, Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar, and other dignitaries have expressed shock and condoled the deaths in the bus tragedy in Karnataka's Chitradurga.

CM Siddaramaiah has stated that a thorough investigation will be conducted into the incident.

/IANS