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.
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 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 20-foot 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 halted on the road.
“It looks like he tried to swerve when he saw the cars and made a sudden turn in an attempt to avoid hitting the cars. In this attempt, he lost control of the vehicle and fell into the open space on the side,” the officer said. He added that the impact was such that the bus dragged along the Innova, crushing it completely.
Sources also said that most of the passengers on the bus were travelling with their families. The youngest victim is a two-year-old girl identified as Vedika Yadav who was travelling with her mother Nisha Yadav. Both are residents of Satara and were on their way to Mumbai to meet relatives. The other infant has been identified as Ananya Kadam aged three years and six months who was travelling with four of her family members. While her family members sustained injuries and have been admitted, the infant succumbed to her injuries.
The injured were admitted to five hospitals, namely MGM Hospital in Kamothe, Pancea hospital, Gandhi hospital and Prachin hospital in Panvel.
Officers said that traffic movement on the Expressway was cleared shortly after the debris were cleared.
