A Bengaluru-bound private bus caught fire near Chinnatekur in this district on Friday after colliding with a two-wheeler, leaving 12 people dead, a police official said.

Among the deceased was the biker.According to initial reports, there were about 40 persons in the bus when the motorcycle collided with it and got dragged underneath with its fuel cap open, triggering the blaze.

“About 19 passengers, two children and two drivers survived the mishap,” Kurnool Range DIG Koya Praveen told PTI.

The bus door got jammed due to a short circuit and the vehicle was completely gutted within minutes. Most survivors were aged between 25 and 35 years, police further said.

The bus began its fateful jurney from Hydeabad and was on its way to Bengaluru. It belonged to Kaveri travels company.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who is abroad, ordered the district machinery to extend all possible medical help to the injured.