A 50-year-old daily wage worker was charred to death in a fire that he had set to drive away honey bees from a swarm formed in a parked school bus at Makthal town in Narayanpet district at around 5.30 p.m. on Saturday.
The victim, D. Mahadev, and his friend Gopanna, both residents of BC Colony in the town, went to a nearby ground where three school buses were deserted for a long time due to COVID-19 lockdown.
They noticed a beehive inside a bus, and decided to extract the honey. In the process, the duo collected dried leaves and lit it. As the flames were high, Gopanna went to get some water to douse the flames. In the meantime, Mahadev entered the bus in an attempt to drive away the bees and extract the honey, District Superintendent of Police M. Chetana told The Hindu.
“He threw leaves on the floor of the bus. However, the fire spread to the seats and soon the vehicle was engulfed in flames, and Mahadev could not escape. By the time Gopanna returned with a bucket full of water, he was burnt alive,” she said, adding that Gopanna fled after that.
Locals, who noticed the flames, alerted police, and a fire tender was soon rushed to the spot.
