In first accident on MTHL, family miraculously unhurt, booked

A car accident occurred on the newly opened Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) involving two women, a child, and two teenage boys. The occupants of the car miraculously did not suffer any serious injuries. Police will be registering a case against them for rash driving.

NAVI MUMBAI: Barely a week after the opening of the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL), the first car accident was reported on the 22-km sea bridge on Sunday at 3pm. The mishap involved two women, a child and two teenage boys travelling in their Maruti Suzuki Ignis car towards Mumbai. The car was being driven by Zara Sakir (32), a Panvel resident.

In first accident on MTHL, family miraculously unhurt, booked

The dashcam footage of an adjacent car captured the accident as it happened. The dramatic video footage shows the red Maruti Ignis over-speeding and overtaking the car from the left and ramming the divider before turning turtle. But despite the car taking at least two tumbles after hitting the divider, its occupants, a Dawoodi Bohra family, by some miracle did not suffer any serious injury. “They did not have any visible injury,” said senior police inspector Sanjeev Dhumal from Nhava Sheva police station. “They were taken for a medical check-up and discharged. We will be taking suo motu action and registering a case against them.”

Police inspector Gulfaroz Mujawar from the Nhava Sheva traffic unit said that the accident did not cause a traffic jam. “The car was removed from the road with the help of a crane and is now at Nhava Sheva station,” he said. While going to press, the Nhava Sheva police were in the process of registering a case under IPC Sections 279 (rash driving) and 337 (causing hurt by an act endangering the life or personal safety of others). “Though fortunately no one was injured, it was a dangerous act and anyone could have been,” said Dhumal. “People need to be more careful on the bridge and not overspeed.”

The 22-km sea bridge, built at a cost of over ₹17,000 crore, was inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi on January 12 and is expected to reduce the travel time between Central Mumbai and Navi Mumbai to 20 minutes. Curious Mumbai and Navi Mumbai residents have been taking joyrides on the bridge, and despite clear instructions from the authorities to not stop or park on the bridge for shooting selfies, families have been violating the rules, leading to their being fined. The Nhava Sheva police have deployed a special monitoring team to ensure that traffic is not obstructed by nuisance-makers parking on the bridge.