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Six youths killed as SUV plunges 500 ft into Tamhini Ghat gorge
After an arduous search in treacherous terrain using drones and a team of trekkers, the six bodies and the vehicle were recovered late Thursday evening.
Pune: Six youngsters from Pune were killed after the Mahindra Thar SUV they were travelling in reportedly lost control and plunged nearly 500 feet into a gorge in Tamhini Ghat on the Pune–Raigad border. The crash is believed to have occurred on the Pune–Mangaon route in the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday. After an arduous search in treacherous terrain using drones and a team of trekkers, the six bodies and the vehicle were recovered late Thursday evening. Police identified the bodies based on information provided by their families.
The deceased have been identified as Punit Sudharak Shetty, 20; Sahil Sadhu Gothe, 24; Mahadev Koli, 18; Omkar Sunil Koli, 18; Shiva Arun Mane, 19, and Pratham Shahaji Chavan, 22 of the Kopre locality in Uttam Nagar area and were working professionals.
According to the police, the group had left Pune at around 11.30pm on Monday for a leisure trip to Diveagar beach in Konkan in a Mahindra Thar (MH12 YN 8004) when the accident took place midway. As the youth went incommunicado after a few hours of leaving home, their families lodged a missing persons report at the Uttam Nagar Police Station in Pune on Wednesday. Police launched a search operation on Thursday morning. CCTV footage and mobile location data helped investigators narrow their search to a hazardous section of Tamhini Ghat.
Mangaon police inspector Nivrutti Borade said, “Bodies have been recovered after hours of search operations.”
Initial findings suggest that the SUV veered off a sharp curve and plunged almost 500 feet into the valley. Drone footage helped rescuers scan the dense, rocky landscape and locate the mangled vehicle and bodies inside the gorge.
Uttam Nagar police coordinated with their Raigad counterparts, who brought in local trekking groups and drone teams to search the area.
Rohan Khandare, senior inspector, Uttam Nagar Police Station, said, “A drone spotted the wrecked SUV deep inside the gorge below a dangerously sharp curve. The bodies were also detected nearby. The group had taken the Thar belonging to their friend, Sahil Bote, when the mishap occurred.”
“We are examining possibilities of speeding, mechanical failure, low visibility and slippery road conditions. Tamhini Ghat is known for hazardous curves, especially during and after rainfall,” Borade said.
Mangaon Police Station has filed an FIR under Sections 106, 125(A), 125(B), 281 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, and Sections 281 and 184 of the Motor Vehicles Act.
