Two killed, five injured in accident on Mumbai-Pune Expressway

The vehicle toppled on the road just after the accident, and all of the passengers suffered severe injuries.

Two people died and five others, including a woman, were injured after a milk tanker toppled on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway on Wednesday night.

The vehicle toppled on the road just after the accident, and all of the passengers suffered severe injuries on different parts of their bodies. (HT File Photo)

According to the police, the seven people were travelling in the tanker from Pune to Mumbai. While crossing Khandala village near Lonavala around 9.30pm, the driver lost control of the vehicle and rammed it into a pillar and an adjacent wall of a bridge.

“The vehicle toppled on the road and all of them suffered grievous injuries. Ambulances rushed to the spot and took the injured to two hospitals at Khopoli and Nigdi,” said assistant police inspector Arvind Kate from Lonavala police station.

Two of the injured — Bhalji Pandarpude, 52, a resident of Kolhapur, and Krushna Milawane, 40, a resident of Satara — succumbed in the hospital after a few hours. Their bodies were handed over to their families after conducting a post-mortem.

The other five people, including the woman, are recuperating in hospital. Their condition is reportedly stable, said the police.

“The vehicle’s driver is also among the injured. The exact reason for the accident has not been understood so far as we have not been able to take statements of the injured. Prima facie, it appears to be a case of speeding. The tanker was also damaged in the accident and the milk spilled on the road,” Kate said.