Hyderabad, Oct 30 (IANS): The horrific bus fire in Mahabubnagar district Wednesday snuffed out many young lives, plunging their families into gloom on the eve of Diwali.

Some of them working in Bangalore were returning home to celebrate the festival of lights while some young software professionals were shifting to Hyderabad for a better career.

As many as 45 people were killed and five injured when the Volvo bus belonging to Jabbar Travels and coming to Hyderabad from Bangalore caught fire after hitting a culvert near Palem in Mahabubnagar district.

Majority of those on the ill-fated bus were in their 20s and 30s. Four women and a baby were among the dead.

Software engineer A. Ravi, 27, was one of the young professionals, whose dreams were cut short by the tragedy. He was coming to Hyderabad to join multinational company Accenture. Ravi, a native of Narsipatnam in Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh, was working in another company in Bangalore.

According to Ravi's friends, he was waiting for an offer letter from another multinational company in Bangalore and since it was delayed he decided to shift to Hyderabad and join Accenture.

N. Roohia, an employee of Info Technologies here, was another young software professional who lost her life in the mishap. She had gone to Bangalore for some work and was returning to the city.

Twenty seven-year-old K. Vedapati, working as an accountant in a bank in Bangalore, was coming home to celebrate Diwali. A native of Nizamabad district, he was married in November last year.

"He informed wife and parents that he is coming for festival but we received the shocking news this morning that the bus caught fire," said one of his relatives trying to identify him in the charred remains of the victims.

Akshay Singh, 28, a software engineer employed in Bangalore, was to come home Oct 26 for his birthday but postponed the visit so as to celebrate Diwali with his family in Hyderabad. A pall of gloom descended on his house at Chikkadpally here.

G.B. Sundara Raju, 54, and his wife Vijaya Kumari of Guntur district were among the victims. The couple, who was staying with his son in Bangalore, was on its way to Hyderabad for treatment.

Golf coach Yogesh Kumar is one of the five injured in the accident. According to doctors at DRDO Apollo Hospital, his condition is critical.