Pune-Bangalore highway mishap claims nine lives

15 January,2014 04:18 AM IST |   |  A correspondent

Within 12 hours of this accident, 15 other passengers inside an ST bus were injured after the bus rammed into a container on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway

Not so smooth: Pune-Mumbai Expressway, where the second accident occurred. File pic.


Nine people died and five others were seriously injured after an overtaking container fell on a four-wheeler at a sharp turn near Khambataki ghat tunnel on the Pune-Bangalore highway around 9 pm on Monday.

Not so smooth: Pune-Mumbai Expressway, where the second accident occurred. File pic.

Within 12 hours of this accident, 15 other passengers inside an ST bus were injured after the bus rammed into a container on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway on Tuesday morning at around 7.30 am near the Pali bridge.

The deceased in the accident near Khambataki tunnel have been identified as Santosh Shyamrao Kapse of Kolhapur, Mayur Dadasaheb Jagdale from Karhad, Nitin Shivaji Dafale from Hatkanangle near Kolhapur, Shankar Keshav Pawar from Patan, Mithun Sadanand Kamble from Gadhinglaj, Dharmanna Vitthal Vanaragle from Jat taluka, Pintu Ramchandra Chavan (27) and Samarth Pintu Chavan (3) both from Dapodi in Pune.

The five injured passengers in this accident have been admitted to a hospital near Shirwal. The 15 passengers injured in the E-way accident have been admitted to private hospitals in Panvel.

According to Khandala police, there were 18 passengers in the four-wheeler and they were returning to Pune from Kolhapur after attending a religious function. Just after the tunnel ends, there are sharp turns due to which the container driver lost control over his vehicle while attempting to overtake the four-wheeler.

The container fell over the four-wheeler owing to which passengers got trapped under it. With the help of local villagers, injured passengers were shifted to nearby hospital. A crane was brought for towing both the vehicles after which traffic flow was restored on the highway.

In the E-way accident, a State Transport bus of Karnataka, headed towards Mumbai, rammed into a container at Pali bridge near Khalapur toll plaza. The impact of the collision was so huge that the front cabin of the bus got completely smashed, injuring the driver as well as other passengers.

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
Related Stories