Five killed as truck overturns on them on Mumbai-Pune Highway

Five people standing on a roadside were killed after a truck overturned on them on the Mumbai Pune old highway in Maharashtra's Raigad district late Sunday

night, police said. The mishap took place near Dasturi village under Khopoli police station limits. According to the Khopoli police, six people from Talegaon Dabhade in neighbouring Pune district were returning on three motorcycles from Alibaug in Raigad. Around 11 pm, all of them stopped on the roadside near the Anda point diversion close to Bor ghat on the Mumbai-Pune old highway, located around 85 km from here.

While one of them went to answer the nature's call in the nearby bushes, the five others were standing on the roadside. At that time, a truck carrying flour in gunny bags was taking a turn towards Khopoli at the same diversion. "While negotiating the turn, the truck driver lost control over the wheels. As a result, it overturned and all the five persons who were standing on the roadside got trapped under the truck and the gunny bags containing flour," a station duty officer at Khopoli police station said. The five persons died on the spot while the sixth member of the group was unhurt, she said.

The deceased have been identified as Pradip Chole (38), Amol Chilame (30), Narayan Gundale (28), Govind Nalwad and Nivruttu Gundale (28). "After the mishap, the truck driver fled, leaving his vehicle on the spot," the official said. A case has been registered against the truck driver and an investigation is underway, she added.

ALSO READ | Director of Kamal Haasan's Indian 2 announces Rs 1 crore for accident victims

ALSO READ | 48-year-old killed in road accident in UP's Banda