8 killed, 13 injured in road mishap in Pune’s Navale Bridge area

Deputy Commissioner of Police Sambhaji Kadam said the impact was such that a car caught fire after it got sandwiched between the truck and a container on the same route.

Eight fire tenders, rescue vans and water tankers were pressed into service to extinguish the flames. Police said five persons in the car and two in the truck, including its driver and cleaner, died and their bodies were badly burnt in the incident.

Devendra Potphode, chief of the Pune Fire Brigade said, “When our team reached the spot, there was a huge fire. Our priority was to douse the flames. The truck that went out of control carried was heavily-laden with iron pieces and rods. The car that was gutted may have had a CNG kit. After the car caught fire, the CNG might have exploded. Two women and a little girl, aged around 2 years, were sitting in the back seat of the car. Two men were sitting in the front seats. Two persons were found in the truck. Removing the burn casualties from the crushed vehicles was a difficult task.”

The bodies were taken to Sassoon Hospital for postmortem. Attempts were underway to identify the deceased persons. Police also launched a probe to confirm the exact cause behind the incident. The process of lodging the first information report (FIR) was initiated at Sinhagad Road Police Station.

The incident led to panic and traffic jams in the area. At least three vehicles involved in the accident caught fire. Efforts were on to remove the damaged vehicles, while injured persons were taken to nearby hospitals.

DCP (traffic) Himmat Jadhav issued a traffic advisory for Navale Bridge area. Traffic on the lane heading from Satara towards Mumbai was closed for traffic. Motorists were advised to avoid this route for a few hours. Vehicles travelling from Satara to Mumbai were told to take the old Katraj Ghat route as an alternative.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said in a post on X, “The incident of some people losing their lives in the accident on the Navale bridge in Pune is extremely tragic and heartbreaking. I offer my heartfelt tribute to those who lost their lives in this incident. We share in the grief of their families. The families of the deceased in this accident will be provided with financial assistance of 5 lakh rupees.”

‘Victims cried for help’

Sanjay Solanki, who runs a shop near Navale Bridge, said, “I saw the accident and rushed to the spot. I heard the victims in the truck and the car crying for help. But the vehicles caught fire and I was helpless.”

A local resident Sarang Nawale said while he was passing the spot, he saw a car crushed between a truck and a container. “The car was burning. Police and fire brigade carried out the rescue operation, but some people died in the horrifying mishap,” he said.

‘Black spot’ that saw many accidents

Navale Bridge in Narhe area of Pune and an adjacent location known as Selfie Point are both black spots on the list of the Integrated Road Accident Database (iRAD) launched by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways of India. According to norms set up by the ministry and the Indian Road Congress, a stretch of 500 metres of a road, on which five or more accidents with fatalities or grievous injuries have taken place in three years, is referred to as a “black spot”.

Multiple accidents have been reported in Navale Bridge area over the last few years. In November 2022, a major accident was reported in the same area in which a truck hit at least 48 vehicles, of which 24 were heavily damaged. Around 20 persons were injured in the accident. Six persons had to be hospitalised while others required first aid.

In October 2023, four people, including two minors, were killed while two others were injured after the goods truck they were travelling in caught fire after colliding with another vehicle on the Nawale bridge.

Total deaths 8, injured 13

Five deceased in the car are identified as Swati Santosh Navalkar (37), Vishwas Palace, Dhayari Phata, her mother Shanta Dattatraya Dabhade (54), father Dattatraya Chandrakant Dabhade (58), residents of Satyasai Apartment, Dhayari Phata, 3 year old Mokshita Hemkumar Reddy of Paradise In, Lakshmi chowk, Chikhali and car driver Dhananjay Koli (30) of Sonawane Wasti,  Chikhali, native of Kolhapur. Sixth deceased is identified as Rohit Dnyaneshwar Kadam (25) of Khandala in Satara district. Attempts were on two identify the truck driver and cleaner.

13 injured

• Sofia Amjad Sayyad (15),
• Ruksana Ibrahim Buran (45),
• Bismilla Sayyad (38),
• Ismail Abbas Buran (52),
• Amol Mule (46),
• Santosh Surve (45),
• Sayyad Shalima Sayyad,
• Julekha Amjad Sayyad (32),
• Amjad Sayyad (40),
• Satish Waghmare (35),
• Sohel Ramnuddin Sayyad (20),
• Shamrao Pote (79),
• Ankit Saliyan (30)