Fiery Pune crash: 8 dead, 13 injured as car sandwiched between 2 trucks explodes; highway strewn with burnt wreckage | Pune News
PUNE: At least eight people were killed and 13 injured after a Mumbai-bound trailer truck ploughed through 13 vehicles on the Bhumkar bridge-Navale Bridge stretch of the busy Pune-Bengaluru highway on Thursday evening. The trailer truck dragged a car for several metres and halted after crashing into another truck. Both the trucks and the car stuck between them caught fire. Five passengers of the car — two men, two women and a three-year-old girl — and the driver and cleaner of the trailer truck were charred to death. The deceased were identified as Swati Santosh Navalkar (37), her father Dattatreya Dabhade (58), mother Shanta Dabhade (54), all from the city’s Dhayari Phata area, their family friend’s daughter Mokshita Reddy (3) of Chikhali and the car driver Dhananjay Koli (30), originally from Kolhapur and staying in the city’s Chikhali area. The family was returning from Narayanpur in the car when the accident occurred. The eighth victim, Rohit Kadam (25) of Khandala in Satara, succumbed to his injuries in a private hospital. “The truck driver and cleaner are yet to be identified,” DCP (Zone II) Sambhaji Kadam said.CM Devendra Fadnavis announced an ex gratia of Rs5 lakh each to the next of kin of those who died in the accident. “Loss of lives in the accident at Pune’s Navale Bridge is extremely unfortunate and painful. I offer my condolences to the families of those who lost lives in the accident,” Fadnavis wrote on ‘X’.Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar said a heavy vehicle lost control and crashed into several vehicles ahead. He said, “The impact was so severe that it sandwiched a car between two heavy vehicles, causing a massive fire that led to multiple deaths. The injured were taken to nearby hospitals, including Sassoon General Hospital.” The commissioner said separate teams have been formed to conduct DNA sampling and forensic examination and coordinate with doctors for autopsies and related procedures.It took at least two hours for the fire brigade to remove the bodies from the vehicles. Traffic towards Mumbai on the highway came to a halt following the accident. The Pune traffic police diverted vehicles to alternative routes. The road is also the city’s link to its IT hub of Hinjewadi.DCP Kadam said the trailer truck loaded with iron beads was on its way towards Mumbai. Around 5.45pm, when it reached near ‘Selfie Point’ close to Bhumkar bridge, the driver lost control, and the truck hit several vehicles. “A total of 13 vehicles, including two trucks, cars, a minibus and two-wheelers, were damaged in the accident,” Kadam said.The DCP said the trailer truck dragged one of the cars for a few metres and then halted after crashing into another truck, which was loaded with plastic beads. “The car got stuck between the two heavy vehicles and caught fire following an explosion. As fuel leaked from the heavy vehicles, the fire immediately spread. The five people in the car were charred to death,” the DCP said.Kadam said both the cabin and the rear portion of the truck carrying plastic beads caught fire. “The driver and the cleaner of the truck could not come out and were charred to death,” he said.Devendra Potphode, chief fire officer of the Pune fire brigade, said, “As the car was stuck between the two trucks, its CNG cylinder exploded and the vehicle went up in flames. Our first fire tender reached the spot within five minutes of the accident. The firemen tried to rescue the car passengers who were lying motionless inside. It took 56 firemen and 30 minutes to douse the blaze.”Narhe resident Sarang Navale, who witnessed the accident, told TOI that he was on the service road of the highway when he heard a loud noise. He said, “I saw a truck dragging a car. Within a few seconds, it hit another truck plying ahead. Then I heard an explosion, and within seconds, the car and the two trucks were on fire. I parked my vehicle and rushed to help the accident victims. But by then, the fire had spread and engulfed the three vehicles.“An officer from the Sinhagad Road police said a team is trying to trace the address of the car owner and also check its registration number. A team of RTO officials too reached the spot.(With inputs from Swati Shinde-Gole, Umesh Isalkar, Anurag Bende & Joy Sengupta)
