At least 12 people were killed and 23 others injured when a speeding mini-bus hit a container truck on Samruddhi Expressway in Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district in the early hours of Sunday, police said.
As many as 35 passengers were travelling by the private bus.
They were returning to Nashik after visiting the Sailani Baba dargah in Buldhana district, an official said.
President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the loss of lives in the accident.
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in a post on X said an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) would be given to the next of kin of each deceased and the injured persons would be given Rs 50,000.
The accident took place shortly after midnight on Sunday in Vaijapur area of the expressway, located nearly 80 km from the district headquarters and 350 km from state capital Mumbai, as per officials.
The bus driver lost control over the wheels. As a result, the bus hit the stationary container truck from the rear side near Jambargaon toll plaza, police officials said.
Prima facie, the mini-bus was overloaded. It had the capacity to carry 17 people, but nearly 35 passengers were travelling on it, an official from Vaijapur police station told PTI.
Twelve passengers were killed. The deceased include five men, six women and a minor girl, inspector Shyamsundar Kavthale from Vaijapur police station said.
The official said 23 others received injuries and they were admitted to hospital. The bus driver was among those hurt. He received a head injury, the official said.
A control room of the Samruddhi Expressway received a call about the accident through the RTO at 12.07 am. An assistance team and ambulance reached the location in a few minutes, an official from the Samruddhi Expressway control room told PTI.
The bus driver claimed he saw the truck in front of his vehicle suddenly before the accident. The truck driver has been detained, he said.
Some locals alerted the police about the accident.
"The accident took place on the first lane from the crash barrier side where the vehicles are supposed to move at a speed of 80 km per hour. The mini-bus collided with the truck on the first lane from the road shoulder. We had to cut a part of the mini-bus from the driver's side to bring people out of the vehicle," an official from the expressway control room said.
The deceased have been identified as Tanushri Solse (5), Sangeeta Aswale (40), Panjabi Jagtap (38), Kajal Solse (32), Rajani Tapase (32), Hausabai Shirsat (70), Zumbar Gangurde (58), Amol Gangurde (18), Sarika Gangurde (40), Milind Pagare (50), Deepak Kekane (47), all from Nashik, and Ratan Jamdade (45) from Vaijapur in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, the police said.
The PMO in a post on X said, 'Pained by the loss of lives due to an accident in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district. My thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones. I wish the injured a speedy recovery. An ex gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000.'
The Samruddhi Mahamarg, named Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg, is a 701-km-long expressway connecting Mumbai and Nagpur.
It traverses 10 districts including Nagpur, Washim, Wardha, Ahmednagar, Buldhana, Aurangabad, Amravati, Jalna, Nashik and Thane.
The construction of the Samruddhi Mahamarg is being carried out by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation.
The first phase, connecting Nagpur to the temple town of Shirdi, was inaugurated by PM Modi in December 2022. It covers a distance of 520 km.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Fadnavis inaugurated the 80-km-long second phase of the Samruddhi Mahamarg stretch from Bharvir village in Igatpuri taluka to Shirdi on May 26.
A number of accidents have been witnessed on the expressway since it became operational.
