Seven die in head-on collision on Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway

The demolished Ertiga car in which the Malad family was travelling

In a tragic accident on the Samruddhi Highway, seven people died and four others were injured late Friday night. According to the highway police, a car travelling on the wrong side of the road collided with an SUV heading towards Mumbai. The incident occurred after one of the cars had stopped to refuel.

One of the injured was speaking to his wife when the head-on collision happened. Three of the seven deceased are the residents of Malad. The injured were immediately given first-aid in the district hospital, Jalna, and were then moved to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. All seven bodies have been brought to Mumbai for post-mortem.

According to the highway police, the accident occurred between 10.51 pm to 11 pm on channel number 351 near Kadavanchi village in Jalna district. "It is believed that the Swift Dzire car, numbered MH 12 MF 1856 stopped at a fuel station and then took the wrong side lane towards Nagpur. Whereas an Ertiga car, numbered MH 47 BP 5478 was coming from Nagpur towards Mumbai. Both vehicles came in front of each other in high speed and collided. The fault was clearly of the car which came from the wrong direction," said a highway police official who was on the spot.

On receiving information about the accident, the Samruddhi highway police and Jalna taluka police rushed to the spot and carried out rescue operations. They moved the demolished cars to the highway's side using cranes and opened the traffic. "Primary information reaching here said around 10 to 12 persons were injured in a road accident, out of which four passengers were admitted to District General Hospital for treatment.

Around three of them have been sent to the District General Hospital at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar as their conditions were said to be critical, while one is being treated at the Jalna District General Hospital," said Umesh Jadhav from the district hospital. According to the police, the seven deceased include: Sandeep Manik Budhwant, 30; Vilas Sudam Kayande, 25; Pradeep Laxman Misal, 25; Aniket Dnyaneshwar Chavan, 24 - all from Buldhana district. Chavan died during treatment at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

Faizal Shakeel Mansuri, 19; Altamash Shakeel Mansuri, 17, and Faiyaz Ahmed Hamid Ali Mansoori, 38, all residents of Malad, were in Ertiga, and are undergoing treatment. The bodies have been handed over to the family.

Malad family usually travelled by air

Shakeel Mansuri, who is into AC repair and installation business, does contract work with a well-known private company. His family was in Nagpur for a business deal. Mansuri regularly travels to Nagpur, mostly by air. "But this time, his elder son Faizal told him that he would join him, too. Faizal's cousin Faiyaz and Altaf also tagged along. They were returning to Mumbai after the meeting when the accident took place," said a close relative of the Mansuri family. Faiyaz was seated in the passenger seat. Faizal and Altaf were seated in the middle seat, and Shakeel Mansuri was on the rear seat. "Altaf was on the phone with his wife when the car collided. His wife heard the screams and informed her relatives...," said a relative of Mansuri family.