Lone survivor jumped off the bus, got stuck on a tree NDRF team, rushing to help, was caught in traffic jam on ghat
33 employees of the Dr Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth at Dapoli died after a minibus carrying 34 people fell into a 800ft gorge, off Ambenali ghat in Raigad district. Two other staff members of the university opted out at the last minute
PUNE: Assistant superintendent Prakash Sawant-desai was the only survivor among the 34 occupants of the mini-bus which met with a tragic accident in Ambenali ghat in Raigad district. A total of 33 persons, including two drivers, died after the mini-bus in which they were travelling from Dapoli to Mahableshwar fell into a deep gorge around 11:30 am on Saturday morning.
According to Ketan Chaudhary, registrar, Dr Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, the mini-bus had 34 occupants, which included two drivers and 32 non-teaching staff from the agricultural engineering department.
Dealing with exams, finance and administration, this group had applied to go on a study tour to the Regional Wheat Rust Research Station at Mahableshwar.
“This was partly an outing and partly a study tour and such visits by university teams happened frequently,” a university employee said.
Sawant-desai, who suffered injuries on his hands and legs, was not hurt grievously. He told the university officials that he jumped off the bus and got caught in a tree even as the bus hurtled down the gorge. He then pulled himself up, walked up to the ghat and called for help on his mobile. Completely shaken by the loss of his colleagues, Sawant-desai remained in a state of shock even as there were people gathered around him.
Since last week, the hilly Mahabaleshwar and surrounding areas have been witnessing heavy rainfall.
It was on Saturday morning after breakfast, that the university staffers boarded their minibus around 6am and left for Mahabaleshwar. The vehicle encountered heavy rains around 11.30am while crossing the Ambenali ghat in the Sahyadri mountain range. The bus then skidded and fell into a 300 feet deep gorge.
Sanjay Bhave, director of extension department of the university, said, “Sawant-desai climbed up the gorge and tried to call us through his mobile, but did not get the signal easily. Finally, he succeeded and informed us about the mishap.”
Significantly, two employees of the university escaped the tragedy as they decided not to join the group on their Mahabaleshwar visit. Pravin Randive, a newlymarried staffer and Ajit Anant Jadhav skipped the tour at the last minute. Randive said his wife objected to his trip as they were yet to go on their honeymoon. He then decided to opt out.
“We were to leave at 6.30am. But when my colleagues called, I said I cannot make it because I am unwell,” he said.
It was Ajit Anant Jadhav who had planned the tour and had sent a request letter to the university. However, he changed his plans after deciding to visit Haridwar for a certificate course in Yoga.
ACCORDING TO THE EXPERTS, IN CRUCIAL SITUATIONS LIKE THESE, REACHING THE DISASTER SPOT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE IS OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE
PUNE: As has happened in previous rescue missions, a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team was stuck in a traffic jam on way to the Ambenali ghat on Saturday where it had rushed from Pune to assist local teams in the Raigad bus accident rescue mission.
As news of the luxury bus carrying 36 people falling into a deep gorge reached Pune, the NDRF platoon was immediately assembled to leave for the rescue mission along with the necessary equipment.
However, when contacted at 5.15 pm, the NDRF control room in Pune said that the platoon was 45 kilometres away from the location and was expected to reach the accident spot after another one-and-half hour.
Commander Jay Prakash from the NDRF Pune control room said, “At around 12.30 pm we received an update about the fatal bus accident at the Ambenali Ghat. Effectively, we were asked to deploy a 37-member team under the deputy commandant P Bhairavnath. Our team left around 1.15 pm from our centre at Sandubare, a village near Talegaon.”
However, the team was stuck in traffic jam at the ghat itself which caused a major delay in the rescue operations to begin, added Prakash.
The delay encountered by the NDRF team has yet again brought to light the issue of time efficiency of the NDRF teams.
A senior official from the NDRF team requesting anonymity said, “The problem of delay owing to the traffic jams has been persisting for very long.”
The NDRF headquarters have raised this issue on a number of occasions with the Union government. However, nothing has changed on the ground, the official said.
According to the experts, in crucial situations like these, reaching the disaster spot as soon as possible is of utmost importance.
“If the NDRF team is unable to reach the accident spot even after seven hours of the incident, then the entire intent of quick response is futile,” an expert said. Previously, the NDRF teams had faced a similar kind of delay in a traffic jam when a landslide triggered by heavy rains had wiped out the Ambegaon village in Pune district in 2016.
During that disaster, the need for helicopter transport for the NDRF was raised to overcome delays caused by traffic jams on the roads leading to the disaster site. This aspect has, however, remained neglected even as the need has been felt once again in the current situation.