Satara: 8 dead as truck topples on commuters waiting for bus

Eight people, six of them women, were killed when a container truck overturned on the Mumbai-Bangalore highway near Pargaon Khandala village in Satara, on Sunday afternoon.

Eight people, six of them women, were killed when a container truck overturned on the Mumbai-Bangalore highway near Pargaon Khandala village in Satara, on Sunday afternoon.

The Satara police said the vehicle, which was carrying sugar, was on its way to Pune from Satara, when the driver lost control after picking up speed on a steep slope. It then toppled over people waiting by the side of the highway for a state transport bus.

“The vehicle fell on eight people, killing them instantly,” said B Shinde, police sub-inspector, Khandala police station. Most of them were from Satara district, he said. The accident caused a massive traffic jam on the highway. The police said the driver of the vehicle fled from the spot.

Police personnel at the spot said passengers are forced to put their lives at risk by waiting for buses on the highway because the state transport buses refuse to come to the Khandala bus stand.

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the kin of the victims.

(With agency inputs)