1 dead, 7 injured in Expressway accident

A woman died and seven other passengers including the driver of a Shivneri bus suffered injuries after the MSRTC bus collided with a luxury bus on the MumbaiPune Expressway.

The incident occurred on Wednesday morning at 10:50 am as the SwargateDadar Shivneri bus of MSRTC had crossed Adoshi tunnel near Khopoli when the driver lost control of the bus. The bus went onto the opposite lane and rammed into a luxury bus belonging to Jay Travels, which was heading to Pune from Mumbai.

Pooja Pralhad Manu, 20, travelling in the luxury bus died on the spot while her father and all the other injured passengers were rushed to MGM hospital at Panvel.

According to eyewitnesses, the front tyre of the bus burst due to which the driver of bus Balaji Sukale lost control of the vehicle. However, officials from MSRTC said: “Prima facie the accident seems to be a result of the driver’s negligence and not due to tyre burst. An inquiry will be conducted to ascertain the cause of the accident.”

This is the second fatal accident on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway in less than a fortnight. Seven people of a family were killed after their SUV tyre burst and the car crashed into the divider first and then rammed into a dumper coming from the opposite side.

To avoid such head-on collisions, the MSRDC has decided to install Brifen Wire Rope Safety Fence along the 95 km expressway.