One dead, seven injured as ST bus hits truck on Mumbai-Pune Expressway

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A police official said that one passenger died and at least seven others were injured after a state-run bus they were travelling in collided with a truck on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway early on Saturday, reported news agency PTI.

The incident took place near Lonavala in Pune district around 3 am, he said.

"The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus from Pathardi depot (in Ahmednagar) was on its way to Mumbai when it collided with a truck from behind. Both the vehicles were going in the same direction," he said, reported PTI.

A male passenger, identified as Vishwanath Bhagwan Waghmare, died in the incident, while seven to eight passengers suffered injuries and were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment, the official said, adding that traffic on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway route was disrupted for some time, but the authorities soon cleared it.

23 passengers injured as bus hits heavy vehicle on Mumbai-Pune Expressway

At least 23 passengers were injured, 11 of them seriously, after a private bus they were travelling in hit a heavy vehicle on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway near Lonavala in Pune district early on October 17, police said.

The bus was travelling to Borivali in Mumbai from Kolhapur in western Maharashtra when the accident took place around 5 am, they said.

"It appears that the driver of the bus dozed off, which resulted in it hitting a heavy vehicle, like a container or a trailer, from behind. While 11 of the passengers were seriously injured, 12 others sustained minor injuries," a police official from Lonavala said.

All the injured passengers were admitted to a hospital and are currently undergoing treatment, he said.

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

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

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-foot-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.

(With inputs from PTI)