Thirteen persons, including at least five minors, were killed and 29 others injured after a bus carrying young male and female members of a traditional music troupe fell into a gorge on the old Mumbai-Pune highway in Raigad district of Maharashtra early on Saturday, police said.

The private bus with 42 persons on board was going from Pune to Mumbai when it plunged into the 300-feet deep gorge in the Bor Ghat mountain pass section, better known as Khandala Ghat, around 4.50 am. The accident occurred near Khopoli town in the district, around 70 km from Mumbai, a senior police official said.

According to police, the dead included a six-year-old boy and a girl aged 15, while of the total number of injured, at least six are minors. Most of the music troupe members were in their twenties or teenagers, who were heading back to Mumbai after taking part in an event in Pimpri Chinchwad near Pune city.

Expressing grief over the incident, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced compensation of ₹ five lakh to the relatives of each victim. He said the condition of five of the injured is critical.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah expressed sorrow and spoke to CM Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis about the accident.

“The bus was carrying 42 members of ‘Baji Prabhu Zanj Pathak’ based in Mumbai’s Goregaon. They were returning to Goregaon after taking part in an event in Pimpri Chinchwad area in Pune district. The bus, which had left the venue around 1 am on Saturday, fell into the gorge on the highway near Shingroba temple after its driver lost control,” the police official said, adding that 13 of them died in the incident, which left 29 others injured.

On learning about the incident, a team of the local police, volunteers of Yashwanti Hikers’ group from Khopoli and some personnel of IRB company rushed to the spot and launched a rescue operation, the police said.

The injured were admitted to three different hospitals - the Mahatma Gandhi Mission (MGM) Hospital at Kamothe in Navi Mumbai, a government hospital in Khopoli and a private facility there, they said.

The dead and the injured were from Goregaon and Sion in Mumbai and Virar in neighbouring Palghar district, Raigad Superintendent of Police (SP) Somnath Gharge said.

In a tweet in Hindi, Union minister Shah said, “The road accident in Raigad, Maharashtra is very sad. Talked to Chief Minister @mieknathshinde and Deputy Chief Minister @Dev_Fadnavis in this regard. The local administration is engaged in relief work. I express my condolences to the families of the deceased and wish the injured a speedy recovery.” CM Shinde visited the MGM Hospital in Navi Mumbai to enquire about the health of the injured. After that, he also visited the accident site.

“Of the total injured persons, the condition of five is critical. I have instructed the doctors to provide the best possible treatment to save their lives,” he said.

Deepak Sawant, who lost his 18-year-old daughter Jui, in the accident, said he had spoken to her when she reached Pune safely for the event.

“While leaving for Pune, Jui told me she will telephone me when she reaches the city, which she did. That was my last conversation with my daughter,” said a distraught Mr Sawant, who is employed as a security guard.

Jui had just appeared for her Class 11 examination, he said.

Among the dead were brothers Satish and Swapnil Dhumal, who had left Mumbai on Friday to attend the event and boarded the bus in Pune in the early hours of the day.

“We were college students and associated with the troupe. I was asleep when we were informed about the accident. We immediately rushed to Khopoli and identified Swapnil’s body,” said Ganesh Bhole, a friend and neighbour of the brothers.

One of the rescuers at the scene, Khopoli-resident Dr Riyaz Pathan, said he received a phone call from a fellow medical practitioner about the accident.

“After reaching the spot, we managed to bring out 10 to 15 passengers, one of them dead,” he said.

He claimed there were no safety railings at the spot, adding that their presence may have averted the accident.

Source – NDTV

- Agencies