Navi Mumbai: A tragic pile-up involving three heavy motor vehicles on the Mumbai-bound carriageway of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway near Khopoli on Friday around 5 pm resulted in two deaths and two injuries. The three heavy motor vehicles overturned, and paint from one of the overturned trucks spilled onto the road, causing a severe traffic jam that affected both the regular expressway route and the new connecting link meant for light motor vehicles. The jam lasted approximately two hours.
Details of the Fatal Accident
The driver and cleaner of the paint-laden truck were killed in the accident. The incident occurred in the Bhor ghat section at 38.100 km on the Mumbai-bound carriageway. A truck registered with Karnataka RTO, carrying a consignment of paints and painting powder bags from Pune towards Mumbai, lost control near Khopoli and crashed into a truck and a container vehicle ahead, leading to the pile-up. The spilled paint and powder caused significant traffic disruption until the overturned vehicles were towed away and the road was cleaned.
Injuries and Rescue Operations
API Swapnil Patil of the Highway Safety Patrol reported that the driver of the truck that caused the accident and the cleaner died on the spot. Their identities remain unknown as their driving license and vehicle documents could not be recovered from the spilled paint. The injured individuals are truck driver Veer Balram from Rajasthan and another trucker Zeeshan Ali (31) from Uttar Pradesh. Both sustained severe injuries and were admitted to Khopoli rural hospital. Rescue efforts involved Sub-divisional police officer of Khalapur division Vishal Nehul, Khopoli police inspector Sachin Hire, IRB patrol, Devdoot teams, and social worker Gurunath Sathilkar along with his team from Khopoli.
Second Accident on the Same Evening
Later around 9:15 pm, another pile-up occurred near the Khopoli food mall on the expressway, but no fatalities were reported in this incident. Traffic was diverted along two lanes towards Mumbai to prevent further congestion.
