Four individuals, including two minors, were killed in a road accident near Pune’s Navale bridge on Monday evening. The incident occurred at approximately 9:30 p.m. Upon being informed of the incident, teams of the Pune City Police and Fire Brigade responded to the scene and initiated rescue operations. According to the initial investigation, it appears that a container colliding with a truck caused the latter to catch fire.
Devendra Potphode, Chief Fire Officer of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), has reported that a truck transporting corn husks collided with a vehicle and subsequently collided with a container, resulting in the cabin of the truck being crushed and burning. Potphode further stated that six people were trapped in the cabin, one of whom was rescued with minor injuries, while four others, including two minors, were confirmed dead. Firefighters from Pune and the PMRDA have since removed the bodies from the burning truck, and the victims have been taken to a hospital for further identification. Police are suspecting the deceased persons, including the truck driver, and have initiated a criminal investigation.
Three Dead, Two Injured In Truck Fire
The Mumbai-Bengaluru Highway, which includes the accident site on Monday night, remains a highly accident-prone region, with heavy vehicles being the primary cause of accidents. The traffic police of Pune City have reported a total of 40 fatal accidents on this section of the highway in 2022, resulting in the death of 44 people. Additionally, the two traffic jurisdictions in charge of this section of highway (Bharati Vidyapeeth and Sinhagad Road traffic divisions) have identified Navale Bridge as one of the most frequent accident black spots, while Selfie Point is the most frequent black spot in the Pune City area.
After the Navale Bridge incident in November last year, which resulted in 48 vehicles being hit or brushed, various government agencies announced several corrective measures, short-term and long-term, to enhance safety on Pune Bangalore’s patch from Katraj to Narhe. The measures include a gradual reduction of heavy vehicle speed limit, gradient reduction on Navale bridge, and curvature reduction of the highway bypass connecting the viaduct to Swami Narayan Temple. According to the authorities, they have recently painted additional rumble strips and installed more reflectors on the patch. In a few areas, they have proposed to paint rumble strips every 400 meters along with regular maintenance. The speed limit has been reduced from 40 km/h to 40 km/h, and additional speed guns are being used to enforce the speed limit.