10 pilgrims bound for Shirdi killed in accident, President, PM grieve

Nashik: In a tragedy, 10 pilgrims were killed and 24 others were injured when a speeding private luxury bus carrying them to the famed Shirdi Saibaba Temple in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar, crashed into an oncoming truck near Patharde in Nashik district on Friday morning, police said.

The accident took place around 7 a.m., when the bus, with around 45 pilgrims from Ambernath town in Thane, was speeding to Shirdi via Sinnar-Shirdi state highway.

According to police, the bus crashed headlong into the truck coming from the opposite direction and then overturned, resulting in the huge disaster, said the police.

President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed pain and grief over the tragedy and conveyed their condolences to the bereaved families and the injured victims.

The PM also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 200,000 to the relatives of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured.

In Mumbai, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde expressed shock over the tragedy and announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of all the deceased besides free medical treatment for all the injured victims.

He also ordered a detailed probe into the accident, the causes and related aspects, said an official.

Among those who perished in the accident are 6 women, 2 men and 2 minors, all from Ambernath town, said the police.

They are: Pramila P. Gondhali, 45, Diksha S. Gondhali, 18, Naresh M. Ubale 38, Vaishali N. Ubale, 32, Shravani S. Baraskar, 30, Shraddha S. Baraskar, 4, Roshni R. Wadekar, 30, Balaji K. Mehti, 25, Ayushman P. Mehti, 5, and an unidentified teenaged girl.

Of the 24 injured victims – comprising 13 women – 20 are admitted to the Sinnar Rural Hospital, Matoshree Hospital, Yeshwant Hospital and Salunkhe Hospital, and four were treated and allowed to go by the Sinnar Rural Hospital.

Some who are seriously injured have been rushed to the Shirdi Superspeciality Hospital and the Vavi police have registered an accident case with the probe underway.

Soon after learning of the calamity, the shocked families, relatives and friends of the victims rushed from Ambernath to Nashik, with emotional scenes witnessed near the hospitals, while Maharashtra Minister Dada Bhuse called on the victims undergoing treatment.