Mumbai: Five dead, 42 injured as in accident on Mumbai-Pune Expressway

The bus involved in the accident. Pic/ Faisal Tandel

A Pandharpur-bound bus carrying 'warkaris' or pilgrims hit a tractor on Mumbai-Pune Expressway leaving at least five persons killed and 42 injured, reported PTI on Tuesday.

Notably, tractors are not allowed on the expressway.

The bus was carrying 54 warkaris, devotees of Lord Vitthal, to Pandharpur in Solapur district ahead of the Ashadhi Ekadashi celebrations from Dombivli near Mumbai.

According to deputy commissioner of police Vivek Pansare, the accident took place around midnight near Panvel in Navi Mumbai.

As per the PTI report, the speeding bus hit the tractor from behind while trying to overtake it, police said. Among the five deceased, three were passengers from the bus while two were persons riding on the tractor identified as driver Tarvez Salahuddin Ahmed (27) and Deepak Sohan Rajbhar (30)

The deceased bus passengers were identified as Hausabai Hari Patil (65), Ramdas Narayan Mukadam (71) and Gurunath Bapu Patil (65), said the PTI report.

After hitting the tractor, the bus broke through the barricade of the expressway falling into a 20-feet deep gorge, an official said.

The injured pilgrims were rushed to a private hospital. As per the PTI report, the condition of seven of them was serious, he said.

Addressing the media at the Navi Mumbai hospital, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced that the families of the deceased will be paid financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh each and that the government will bear all expenses of the treatment.

Police were probing the causes of the accident and those responsible will face action, the CM said.

"I met each and every injured, who told me that they were alive due to the blessings of Lord Pandurang," said Shinde.

Jharkhand: Bus torched after man killed in accident

A mob allegedly torched a bus after a man was reportedly killed in accident in Jharkhand, reported the PTI.

Tensions flared in Jharkhand's Palamu district after a fatal collision between a bus and an auto-rickshaw resulted in the death of a person on Monday, as per the PTI.

Om Prakash Viswakarma (34) was killed on the spot and two others injured in the accident on Medininagar-Panki road, Lesliganj sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Manoj Kumar Jha said, according to the PTI.

Following the incident, enraged villagers gathered at the scene and set the bus on fire after evacuating the passengers. They also assaulted the driver, who was later admitted to a local hospital for treatment, the police added, the news agency reported on Monday.