"The accident occurred between 4.30 and 5pm near Khalapur toll naka when one of the vehicles lost control," said a control room official. However, there were reports of the tyre of one vehicle bursting resulting in loss of control and pile-up of cars.
A pile-up of cars on Mumbai-Pune Expressway has resulted in the loss of two lives while three others have sustained grievous injuries. The accident occurred on Wednesday evening and involved at least eight vehicles.
Out of the eight vehicles, two were driven by truckers and the rest were light utility vehicles and sedans, heading towards Mumbai.
"The accident occurred between 4.30 and 5pm near Khalapur toll naka when one of the vehicles lost control," said a control room official. However, there were reports of the tyre of one vehicle bursting resulting in loss of control and pile-up of cars.
The casualties were rushed to a hospital in Panvel. "All casualties are from Mumbai," added the official.
Often there are incidents of tyres bursting on Mumbai-Pune Expressway resulting in fatal accidents.
According to data compiled by the highway police between January 2006 and August 2014, there were a total of 14,186 accidents, of which 12,158 or 85.71 per cent were due to human error, 2,019 or 14.23 per cent were due to mechanical issues and just 9 or 0.06 per cent were due to factors, involving neither human nor mechanical problems.
There are plans to have a trauma care centre and air ambulance on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. However, there aren't any takers for operating it. As a result, the government has also not taken up the job of providing healthcare to accident victims.
In March 2013, a brifen wire rope was installed on some sections of the expressway's median, which has helped in reducing the number of fatalities. This wire has been put up from Kamshet Tunnel to Ozarde, a stretch of 5 kms. There are plans to put it up on the entire stretch of the expressway.
Type of accidents Per cent of accidents
HUMAN ERROR: 85.71%
MECHANICAL ISSUES: 14.23%
OTHER FACTORS: 0.06%
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