They were waiting for a bus on the Pune-Bengaluru national highway when they were crushed; the container driver has been arrested
Khandala, road accident deaths, mishap, Pune-Bengaluru national highway, container crushes 8, container driver arrested
As many as eight passengers waiting for a bus on the Pune-Bengaluru national highway died when they were knocked down and crushed under a container heading for Pune from Satara, at Khandala ghat on Sunday noon.
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The Khandala Police and highway police called in cranes to lift the containers and retrieve the eight people
Khandala police have registered a case against the container driver Navnath Ajinath Geet, a resident of Khanda colony, Panvel, in Navi Mumbai. He was arrested on Sunday evening. The eight deceased have been identified as Neha Waghmare, (25), her brother Pramod, (20) from Khandala, Avinash Gedam, (20) from Chandrapur, Sharifa alias Havabi Manjori-Kachi (30), and her relatives Shabana, (22), Salma, (52), Halima Patel (45), Sakinabai (75) all from Ghatkopar.
(From left to right) Sharifa alias Havabi Manjori-Kachi and her relatives, Shabana, Sakina and Salma, all from Ghatkopar, died in the incident
According to Khandala Police the incident took place around 12 noon. The deceased were passengers waiting for a state transport bus from Parel at Pargaon depot.
Suddenly the driver of a container coming from Satara and heading for Pune, lost control of it after a sharp turn before a slope. Police say the container rammed against the road divider and turned turtle.
The passengers who were waiting for the bus began to run helter-skelter and some were crushed under the container bearing the number MH 06-SQ-9314. Soon after the incident, the container driver fled the spot.
Cranes were used to lift the container and retrieve the bodies. Traffic on both sides of the road was jammed because of the accident on Sunday.
The police and highway police tried to help other passengers and handled the traffic.
14 pilgrims injured
In another incident, on Sunday, people on a pilgrimage travelling in a state transport bus heading from Pune to Nashik to attend the Maha Kumbh Mela, met with an accident at Junnar Peth ghat around 2 am.
The passengers are mostly from Pimpri Chinchwad area. According to Narayangaon police station, “The accident took place when the state transport bus was trying to overtake a vehicle and the driver did not notice another vehicle coming from the
opposite direction. He lost control and dashed against the hill.
Some 14 passengers are injured while three of them are undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit of Mansar government hospital. Their names are yet to be ascertained.”
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