Seven persons were killed and three others sustained severe injuries after two cars collided, head-on, at Karla near Lonavla on the old Mumbai-Pune highway on Sunday afternoon.
According to officials, four of those who died in the accident are from the same family and were headed out for a picnic.
The two cars involved in the accident have been identified as a Swift (MH12-CH-8339 ) and a Santro (MH12-EX-1682).The accident took place between 2 pm and 3 pm near Karla phata, about 8 km from Lonavla, leading to a massive traffic jam on the highway.
The rural police said that the Santro was going towards Pune, while the Swift was headed towards Mumbai. Due to 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 road divider colliding head-on with the Santro coming from opposite direction.Such was impact that both cars were mangled in the aftermath.The occupants were taken to a local hospital nearby, 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.
{{/usCountry}}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.
{{/usCountry}}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.
Ajay Bahirat, who was inconsolable, said, “It is a tragic loss as we have lost four of our family members in the accident. We could not image that such a tragedy would happen to us.
The police investigating the case said that the Swift car in which the family was travelling was moving at full speed when the driver lost control.