CEOAFRICA gathered that about 42 people have died after a bus carrying more than 50 passengers caught fire in India's southern state of Andhra Pradesh early Wednesday morning.

According to source, the bus was travelling from Bangalore city to Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh's capital, when the incident happened. Seven people, including the driver, managed to escape the blaze.

Police said the incident which happened at Kothakota in Mahbubnagar district, 140km (86 miles) from Hyderabad occurred when the air-conditioned Volvo luxury bus had a collision with a culvert which ignited the fuel tank of the vehicle.

Some residents said “The diesel tank burst and flames erupted. Before the passengers could realise what had happened, the blaze engulfed the entire bus”, and report said most of the passengers were sleeping when the incident took place.

More than 130,000 people died in road accidents in India in 2011, according to the government's National Crime Records Bureau.