Mumbai- Pune highway crash: 17 die, 43 hurt
At least 17 people were killed and 43 others injured as a private bus rammed into two cars and fell into a deep ditch on the Mumbai- Pune Expressway early Sunday.
Officials said a Swift Dzire halted in the first lane at around 5.30 am after a tyre puncture. A passing Innova stopped to help. After a few minutes both were hit by a speeding bus, that swerved and fell into a ditch, taking the Innova down with it.
One of the three people in the Dzire died, while two passengers in the Innova were injured. The bus driver was among the dead.
At least 17 people died and 43 others were injured when a private bus rammed into two cars and then fell into a deep ditch. The accident occurred on the Mumbai- Pune Expressway in the wee hours of Sunday.
According to officials, a Maruti Swift Dzire halted in the first lane around 5.30 am to address a puncture in its tyre. An Innova passing by stopped to help the driver of the Swift when after a few minutes both the vehicles were hit by a speeding bus. The bus then swerved and fell into the ditch taking down the Innova with it.
The exact location of the accident is said to be a village named Shedung village located near Navi Mumbai towards the Mumbai side of the Expressway corridor.
Initial investigations have revealed that the Swift had three passengers of which one had died, while two passengers in the Innova sustained injuries.
Among the deceased are six men, 11 women, including two infants aged two and three.
“The bus was coming from Satara and was on the way to Mumbai with most of the passengers being residents of the city. There were nearly 50 passengers in the bus and many of them have been declared dead,” said an officer.
The driver of the bus Baba Iqbal Sheikh ( 66) has also been declared dead. He was a resident of Satara and had allegedly been a driver with the private bus service for many years.
While investigations are on to check whether the driver of the bus was driving rashly or speeding, the police said prima facie, it seems that the driver did not spot the two cars that had stopped on the road.
Sources also said that most of the passengers on the bus were travelling with their families.