37 killed as bus falls off bridge on Mumbai-Goa highway

March 19, 2013 09:04 am | Updated March 20, 2013 01:20 am IST - Mumbai

Onlookers gather around the bus that fell off a bridge into the Jagbudi river in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district. Photo: Special Arrangement

Onlookers gather around the bus that fell off a bridge into the Jagbudi river in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district. Photo: Special Arrangement

Thirty seven people were killed and 15 injured in the worst-ever accident on the Mumbai-Goa highway when a private tourist bus fell off a bridge at 3.30 a.m. on Tuesday.

The bus from Goa was on way to Mumbai. Police said the driver lost control when it was crossing the bridge over the Jagbudi River near Khed in Ratnagiri district. The bus landed upside down on a dry patch of the river. Identification of the bodies was delayed as many of them had become unrecognisable. The injured include several foreign tourists.

“We cannot say whether the driver was drunk,” said Mahendra Pardeshi of Khed police station. The driver, who was injured, has been admitted to a hospital in Khed.

Locals rushed to the spot after they heard a loud noise and immediately informed the authorities, who started the rescue work within an hour. The injured, 10 of whom are in a critical condition, have been taken to hospitals here and in Khed.

The accident has once again fuelled the debate over the need to speed up expansion work of the Mumbai-Goa highway. Bhaskar Jadhav, guardian Minister of Ratnagiri and Minister of State for Urban Development Department, on Tuesday agreed that the expansion project had been delayed. “It is necessary to complete the project to avoid any such incidents,” he said.

PTI reports: Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan announced in the Legislative Assembly a compensation of Rs. 2 lakh each to the kin of the victims and Rs. 50,000 to the injured.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.