Andhra bus accident victims' DNA profiling to be completed by Monday: Official
Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh) (PTI): The DNA profiling of victims of Andhra Pradesh bus fire accident will take 48 hours and is expected to be completed by October 27, said an official on Saturday.
As many as 19 passengers travelling in the private bus and a motor bike rider were charred to death in the wee hours of Friday after it collided with a two-wheeler at Chinnatekuru village of Kurnool district. There were 44 passengers in the bus and several managed to escape the fire.
Kurnool district collector A Siri said samples from 19 bodies were collected and sent to the Forensic Sciences Laboratory in Vijayawada.
"I am informed that it (DNA profiling) will take 48 hours. We are also arranging ambulances and vehicles that day so that as and when the results come we will transport those bodies to their respective places," Siri told PTI.
Out of the 19 bodies, one could not be identified as no one claimed it, she said, while the DNA profiling will exactly match the bodies to its family members.
Relatives of 16 bodies have given their samples for the DNA profiling while two more are reaching Vijayawada today for this purpose, she said.
According to Siri, bodies were completely charred beyond recognition and without doing DNA profiling their identity cannot be established correctly.
The flesh is completely charred and has become black and only the trunk part is left in most of the cases, she observed.
Currently, all the bodies are being preserved in Kurnool Government General Hospital (GGH) and they will be handed over to their relatives once the DNA samples arrive, she said. A consignment of cell phones stocked in the luggage rack of the bus had aggravated the fire accident.
I have seen a few boxes of unburnt cell phones, said the collector.
"The bus batteries, presence of flammable furnishings in the bus and the cargo consisting of cell phones aggravated the fire leading to the tragic event," Kurnool SP Vikrant Patel said in an earlier statement.
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Mhatre's fifty carries CSK to 209/5 against PBKS
Chennai (PTI): Ayush Mhatre showcased his abundant talent with a 43-ball 73, powering Chennai Super Kings to a competitive 209 for five against Punjab Kings in an Indian Premier League match here on Friday.
Mhatre and skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (28) added 96 runs for the second wicket, the crux of the CSK innings, after Sanju Samson returned to the hut early.
Samson inexplicably moved down to the leg-side and tried to cart Xavier Bartlett’s out-swinger over covers, but all he could manage was a healthy edge to Prabhsimran Singh behind the wicket.
But his dismissal proved a minor jitter, as Mhatre tore apart Punjab's bowling with power and precision.
Pacer Bartlett was the aggrieved party early as Mhatre smashed him for three fours in a row — a loft through mid-wicket, a flick and a pull. His audacity helped CSK reach 57 for one in the Power Play.
Mhatre seemed to have put behind, at least for now, his issues against short-pitched balls, as the Mumbai young man later pulled Marco Jansen for a six.
Mhatre later punished Marcus Stoinis for two sixes in a row — both down the ground — and the first maximum also fetched his fifty in 29 balls.
But he shrugged a bit against the guiles of Yuzvendra Chahal, failing to read him well.
The veteran leg-spinner foxed Mhatre, 17 years younger to him, with a series of googlies, but fortune was not in favour of the former.
On 59, Mhatre was dropped by Vijayakumar Vyshak inside the circle and later on 67 by Shahshank Singh in the deep.
But luck eventually ran out as Mhatre’s attempt to steer Vyshak ended in the hands of Chahal at short third man, as both of them got their own piece of revenge.
In between, Gaikwad too was ousted by Chahal as CSK’s march dulled a bit between 10th and 15th overs. In those five overs, the home side managed just 45 runs.
Sarfaraz Khan (32, 12 balls) tried to instil some urgency into CSK innings while playing his trademark dabs and close-to-body shots for a flurry of boundaries.
Sarfaraz clobbered Arshdeep Singh and Vyshak for a hat-trick of fours each with those impish shots before skying Vyshak to Nehal Wadhera.
But that knock coupled with a few strong hits by Shivam Dube (45, 27b) helped CSK eke out 64 runs in the last five overs and this total could see some interesting chase as still there has been no trace of dew in Chepauk.
