7 dead, 3 hurt after head-on car crash on old Mumbai-Pune highway

The accident took place on Sunday afternoon around 8km from Lonavla, leading to a massive traffic jam on the old highway.

Seven people were killed and three others were severely injured after two cars collided head-on at Karla near Lonavla, on the old Mumbai-Pune highway on Sunday afternoon.

The accident took place at Karla on Sunday. (HT Photo)

According to officials, four of those who died in the accident are from the same family and were on their way to a picnic.

The accident took place between 2pm and 3pm near Karla phata, about 8km from Lonavla, leading to a massive traffic jam on the highway.

The rural police said one of the cars, a Santro, was going towards Pune, while the second car, a Swift, was headed towards Mumbai. As it was the weekend, there was a heavy rush of traffic on the highway, compounded by heavy rain.

The driver of the Swift lost control and the car jumped the divider, colliding head-on with the Santro.Such was impact that both cars were mangled in the aftermath.The occupants were taken to a nearby local hospital, where seven of them were proclaimed dead on arrival.

The four passengers in the Swift who died have been identified as Rajeev Jagannath Bahirat (52), Sonali Rajeev Bahirat (46), Jahanvi Rajeev Bahirat (20) and Jagannath Chandrasen Bahirat (23), all residents of Survey No 52 at BT Kawade road; while the deceased travelling in the Santro have been identified as Sanjeev Mohanraj Kushwah (17), a resident of Amardeep colony in Rahatni, Krushna Ramesh Shirsat ( 22)and Nikhil Balaji Sarode (20), both residents of Rahatni.

The three others injured have been identified as Prateek Balaji Sarode (18), a resident of Somatane phata, Akash Madane ( 17) and Rohit Kad (16).

Ajay Bahirat , a family member of the deceased, said that family were headed for a picnic to Lonavla when the tragedy happened.