Nine of family from Bhandup die in accident at Ratnagiri

Nine members of a family from Bhandup and the driver of the jeep in which they were travelling, were killed following a head-on collision with a private bus near Khed on the Mumba-Goa highway, on Sunday.

Nine members of a family from Bhandup and the driver of the jeep in which they were travelling, were killed following a head-on collision with a private bus near Khed on the Mumba-Goa highway, on Sunday.

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The deceased are Pradeep Maruti Khelte, 28, Anant Ganpat Khetle, 55, Prema Anand Khetle, 48, Vishnu Ganpat Khetle, 46, Taramati Mahadev Khetle, 58, Mahadev Khhetle, 70, Vinaya Vishnu Khetle, 40, Anjana Ganpat Khetle, 80, and Sangeeta, whose age is not known.

“The driver of the Volvo, MK Fernandes, 31, was seriously injured in the accident and is critical in a Khed hospital,” said police sub inspector (PSI) Sharad Kuveskar of Khed police.

In May 2005, in a similar accident, seven members of a family were killed at the same spot.

According to the Kashedi highway traffic police, the mishap occurred around 4am when the Tavera driven by Suraj Shankar Jadhav, 22, was negotiating a sharp curve at Kashedi Ghat. Jadhav, police said, fell asleep for a moment and rammed the speeding jeep into the bus.