25 May,2026 09:31 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
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Eight people were killed after an SUV plunged into a deep gorge in Maharashtra's Raigad district, police said on Monday, reported PTI.
The accident took place in the Ambenali Ghat section on the Poladpur-Mahabaleshwar road between 5 am and 6 am on Sunday. The vehicle was located in the gorge on Monday morning after relatives of the victims alerted the police when the group failed to reach their destination in Satara district.
According to police, the victims had left Harne in Dapoli around 2 am in the SUV. Concern grew after they lost contact and did not arrive in Satara as expected. Family members began searching for them before approaching the authorities, reported PTI.
During the investigation, police tracked the victims' last known location through mobile tower data near Poladpur. A search operation was subsequently launched in the Ambenali Ghat stretch, where the SUV was spotted nearly 800 feet below the road in a gorge, reported PTI.
Police suspect the driver lost control of the vehicle while navigating the ghat section, causing it to plunge into the ravine.
Rescue teams, including local disaster management personnel, were deployed at the site. Officials said two bodies were initially recovered, while three more victims had been traced during the ongoing operation. Later, police confirmed that all eight occupants had died in the accident.
The deceased have been identified as Ritesh Lokhande (22), Suhas Lokhande (20), Utkarsh Shingte (21), Nikhil Shingte (25), Mahesh Pawar (25), Aditya Salunkhe (21), Rajesh Katkar (35), all residents of Satara district, and Ansh Chavan (19), a resident of Ratnagiri district, reported PTI.
In another incident, a 21-year-old delivery executive was killed after a motorcycle rammed into his two-wheeler in Nagpur, police said on May 24, adding that the biker and the pillion rider were injured, reported PTI.
Police said Yuvraj Mukesh Alone (23) of Ballarshah was riding a motorcycle at high speed when he allegedly hit the scooter driven by Aditya Meshram, who was delivering orders, on May 22 night, reported PTI.
"Doctors declared Meshram dead during treatment," a Pratap Nagar police officer said.
A case has been registered against Alone on the complaint of the victim's father.
(With inputs from PTI)
