MUMBAI, India
10 passengers were killed and 35 others injured when a private luxury bus fell into a deep trench along the Pune-Satara Highway late Monday night, in the western state of Maharashtra, media reports said.
The accident took place at around 10 pm on Monday, when the driver of the bus lost control of the vehicle while navigating a sharp turn in treacherous Khambatki Ghat area of the highway.
“The driver apparently lost control on the ‘S turn’ and the bus went off the road into a ditch (which was) at least 20 feet deep. Six passengers died instantly, while the rest died on the way to hospital,” Highway police official D. Bhelare told the Indo-Asian News Service.
Following the bus crash, three private vehicles that had stopped to help the victims of the accident were hit by a large speeding commercial vehicle.
Bhelare said that the four people in the three private cars were injured as the commercial vehicle rammed into them from behind.
The condition of the 11 injured passengers is said to be serious.
This is the second road accident in a month in Maharashtra state.
On January 2, at least 30 people were killed when a public passenger bus fell into 120-meter gorge near tourist spot Malshej Ghat in Thane district, 160 kilometers northeast of India’s financial capital Mumbai.
