NEW DELHI

At least 13 people were killed and over 20 injured early Thursday when a bus collided with a truck and caught fire in South India’s Andhra Pradesh state, officials said.

The incident took place in the state's Markapuram district around 6 am (0030GMT). Following the collision, the bus caught fire, and passengers were burned alive in the incident, officials said.

“So far we have reports of 13 deaths and more than 20 injured,” a police official in the Markapuram district told Anadolu.

The state’s Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu directed officials to do a “comprehensive investigation” into the causes of the accident, a statement by Naidu's office said on US social media company X.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the incident “tragic” and announced compensation for the next of kin of the deceased as well as the injured.