Mumbai/Alibag: Five people, including a three-year-old boy and a father-daughter duo, were killed and 40 injured when a bus they were travelling in fell into a valley on the old Mumbai-Pune highway early Monday morning, police said.
The mishap took place near the Amrutanjan bridge in Dasturi in Khandala ghat at around 5.00am, said senior inspector Dhanaji Kshirsagar of Khopoli Police Station. He informed that the buss fell into a valley which is over 40 feet deep.
The private bus, carrying 47 passengers, was moving from Karad in Satara district to Mumbai and the accident was possibly due to the driver losing control while navigating the ghat stretch, said the official.
“Five people were killed and 40, including the driver, were injured. They were returning from Karad post Diwali vacations,” stated Kshirsagar.
Police identified the deceased as Sarvadnya Sachin Thorat (3) from Karad, Sneha Janardhan Patil (15) and her father Janardhan Ramchandra Patil (42) from Ghatkopar in Mumbai, Sanjay Shivaji Rakshe (50) from Powai and Pramila Ramchandra Mohite (50) from Karad.
The injured have been admitted in Nagarpalika Hospital in Khopoli, Lokmanya Hospital in Pune, Pavana Hospital in Talegav and MGM Hospital in Navi Mumbai.
A case of causing death by negligence, rash driving and other offences was registered under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Motor Vehicles Act on a complaint by Karad-resident Sachin Thorat, who lost his son Sarvadnya in the accident, the official said.
PTI
