5 pilgrims dead, several injured after tractor collides with bus on Mumbai-Pune Expressway

NAVI MUMBAI: Five pilgrims died, and more than 40 others sustained injuries after a luxury bus collided with a tractor near Panvel on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and landed 20 feet down the slope along the expressway early on Tuesday.
The mishap occurred on Monday around 1 am near Panvel. The pilgrims were Warkaris (devotees of Lord Vitthal), who were travelling from Dombivli to Pandharpur for the Aashadhi Ekadashi celebration.
The injured have been admitted to MGM Hospital, Kamothe, informed the police.
"A bus carrying 84 passengers collided with a tractor and fell into a ditch near the Mumbai Express Highway. All the injured were admitted to the nearby MGM Hospital," said DCP Navi Mumbai Pankaj Dahane.
The bus with devotees inside was going from Kesar village of Dombivli to Pandharpur in Maharashtra when the accident took place.
The incident disrupted traffic on the Mumbai-Lonavala lane of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.
A crane was used to retrieve the bus from the ditch, and traffic on the lane resumed after a delay of three hours.