At least 17 persons, including a six-month infant and 10 women, were killed and 35 others injured when a private luxury bus plunged into a 25-feet ditch after colliding with two stationary cars at Shedung village in Panvel Taluka in Raigad district on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway in the early hours of Sunday.
The mishap took place at 5.30 am when a private luxury bus owned by Nikhil Travels, coming from Satara, rammed into the two cars — a Maruti Swift DZire and Toyota Innova, both parked on the right side of the road, before veering off the road and rolled down into an adjoining ditch. Owing to early morning darkness, the bus driver had apparently not noticed the tail lights of the two vehicles.
According to eye-witnesses, the owner of a Maruti Swift Dzire was having the flat tyre fixed one side of road, while passengers from a passing Toyota Innova had stopped behind the vehicle for help when the bus collided with both the vehicles from behind.
Those killed in the mishap comprised 10 women, 6 men and a six-month-old female infant.
A majority of those killed and injured were passengers travelling by the bus. Four occupants of the Innova car were among those injured, one passenger who was seated in Maruti Swift car was killed.
The police officials said that the toll might go up since five of the injured persons were in critical condition.
The injured persons are undergoing treatment at MGM Hospital, Ashtavinayak and other nearby hospitals.
Reacting to the mishap, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted, “The accident near Panvel on Mumbai-Pune Expressway is tragic, deeply pained over the loss of lives and injuries”.
The two cars involved in the mishap suffered extensive damage and they were laying in a mangled condition. The police requisitioned cranes to lift the bus lying in a huge ditch adjoining Expressway.
“It is a big accident and a matter of concern for us. My department will investigate the incident and take steps to ensure against recurrence of such mishap,” Public Works Minister Eknath Shinde said.
Mishaps have become commonplace on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. “A majority of incidents on the Expressway – be it the current mishap or the bus mishaps in ghat section, human factor is the cause. Since 2008, over 600 persons have been killed and over 1,000 others injured in mishaps on the E-way. Over-speeding and bursting of tyres are some of the causes of the accident,” a senior traffic official said.