Kalaburagi, Jun 3 (IANS): In a major bus tragedy, four persons were reportedly burnt alive after a Hyderabad-bound sleeper bus caught fire on Friday morning in Karnataka's Kalaburagi district.

However, the police are yet to make an official statement in this regard.

Sources said that all the deceased persons were from Hyderabad. The death toll could rise as 12 injured passengers have been admitted to a hospital in Kalaburagi.

Earlier, the police suspected that seven to eight persons were burnt alive. The exact death toll is yet to be ascertained.

The police said that 28 passengers were travelling in the bus. Of them, 21 managed to come out of the bus.

The police said that the passengers belonged to two families living in Secunderabad near Hyderabad. They were returning from Goa after celebrating the birthday of engineer Arjun Kumar's son.

Eyewitnesses told the police that few persons who came out of the bus boarded buses that were passing through the spot. The police are verifying this with the transport companies.

The incident took place at 6.30 a.m. on the outskirts of Kamalapur taluk in Kalaburagi district on the Bidar-Srirangapatna highway. The bus was going from Goa to Hyderabad.

Police sources said the bus caught fire after a collision with a truck. The bus also veered off the road as an impact of the accident.

The private bus belonged to Orange company in Goa. The local people informed the police and the fire department about the accident.