For the Maldhawa family from Pune, a trip to Mumbai on Raksha Bandhan ended in tragedy, after four of its members were killed in a car accident on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway.

The family from Model Colony in Shivajinagar, Pune was headed to Mumbai around 8.30 am in a Toyota Corolla.

The car fell into a rivulet, some 20 feet below the Expressway, after crossing the Khalapur Toll Naka.

The car swerved off the road after the driver lost control, somersaulted once, hit the road divider and fell off the road into a rivulet, killing four of its occupants on the spot, including five-year-old Ranjit and eight-year-old Girish.u00a0

The children's father Sunil Radheshyam Maldhawa (35) and their grandmother Shankuntala (55) also died.

Their mother Aarti (30) was slightly injured after she reportedly fell out of the door, which opened before it fell
into the rivulet.

"Aarti was saved after the door opened violently, throwing her out, before it fell into the rivulet," said Assistant Police Inspector DR Pol.

"The rivulet had only knee deep water, but the roof of the car was completely crushed. We are trying to determine if the accident was caused because of a technical defect or human error."u00a0u00a0u00a0

The bodies were immediately taken to Chowk Grameen Hospital near Khalapur.

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