2 dead, 25 hurt as ST bus falls into gorge

In a major mishap at the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, a state transport bus fell into a 60-foot gorge after the driver reportedly lost control at a turn and swerved off the road

In a major mishap at the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, a state transport bus fell into a 60-foot gorge after the driver reportedly lost control at a turn and swerved off the road. The incident took place near Khandala Ghat around 7 pm. At the time of going to press, two people the driver and a passenger had been reported dead, and 25 were injured.

The ST bus, carrying 25 passengers, apart from the driver and conductor, started from Satara around 2.45 pm and was on its way to Mumbai. According to reports, the driver, Rajaram Shivthare, lost control of the vehicle while taking a turn and hit the barricade next to the ghat. The vehicle fell in the gorge and flipped a couple of times.

“Two people are dead and the injured are currently being treated at the hospital. The injured were initially rushed to a nearby hospital, but they have now been transferred to bigger hospitals in Chinchwad and Nigdi,” said the spokesperson of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation. The conductor, Deepak Vanjare, is also in the ICU.

Toll to rise?
According to the highway traffic police, as the state bus has fallen into the gorge, they are finding it difficult to carry out the rescue operations. Sources say that the death toll is expected to go up, as many passengers have been severely injured in the accident.

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