A woman died and 57 other passengers sustained injuries on Friday morning when two state transport buses collided head on near Kankavali on the Mumbai-Goa Highway.
“The incident happened around 8.45am at Janavali, a village on the outskirts of Kankavali,” said Mukund Dhus, spokesperson for the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC).
One bus with 53 passengers was headed for Vengurla from Karul, while the other bus was coming from Solapur to Malvan, carrying 30 passengers. There was a head-on collision between the two buses. Given the nature of the accident, authorities believe that both the drivers are at fault.
The two drivers and the conductors are recuperating in nearby hospitals.
“Harshada Dhavan, 22, died in the accident,” said Dhus. Out of the 57 injured, 10 are being treated. Five of the 10 are in serious condition and are getting treated at a hospital in Sindhudurg.
The remaining five are in a private hospital in Kankavali.
Arrests are yet to be made by the local police as both the drivers are undergoing treatment.
A report (for 2011-12) by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on state bus undertakings listed MSRTC as the most unsafe state-run bus service. According to the statistics, on average more than one person gets killed daily in mishaps involving MSRTC buses.