Five people were killed and 43 others suffered injuries when the bus they were travelling in collided with a tractor on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway just past midnight on July 16.
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The bus was carrying 54 pilgrims on their way to Pandharpur, to celebrate the Ashadi Ekadashi festival, from their hometown Dombivli in Thane district. The accident took place around 12.40 a.m. near Panvel in Navi Mumbai.
According to Navi Mumbai DCP Vivek Pansare, the accident was caused by the tractor moving in the same direction suddenly changing lanes and the bus collided with the tractor. After hitting the tractor, the official said the bus rammed into a barricade of the expressway and fell into a 20-feet-deep gorge. Both the driver and passenger on the tractor were killed, along with three ‘warkaris’ (devotees of Lord Vitthal), including one woman.
Apart from the five casualties, 43 injuries were reported, out of which five were serious and 38 were minor, Mr. Pansare said. The bus was lifted out of the gorge by a crane, and the injured were rushed to a nearby private hospital.
A case has been registered by Panvel city police and a probe is on. Ashadhi Ekadashi will be celebrated on Wednesday.
(with inputs Madhav Kejariwal)
