Terrified Goa-bound passengers warned the allegedly drunk driver and even filed a complaint on the Lal Pari app, holding a midnight 'sit-in' in protest; an hour later, the bus overturned at Sukeli Khind, Maharashtra, killing two and injuring 22
The bus after the accident. PIC/BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
In a harrowing incident, 46 passengers on a Goa-bound private bus endured a terrifying hour as the driver allegedly drove under the influence, two men ultimately losing their lives at Sukeli Khind in Raigad district of Maharashtra. At 3 am on Friday, the bus (MP 13 ZP 4545) overturned off the Mumbai-Goa Highway at the notorious Sukeli Khind near Nagothane, leaving two dead and 22 seriously injured.
The incident did not start at the cliffside—it began at a driver-change point in Kharpada.
The midnight SOS
According to the survivors and relatives of the passengers at MGM Hospital, Kamothe, the ordeal began when a new driver, Hemant Patil (36), took the wheel. Passengers immediately noticed he was allegedly intoxicated and driving erratically.
"My nephew, Krunal, called us terrified," said Vishal Mhatre, the relative of a passenger.
"The passengers actually forced the bus to stop. They got off the bus in the middle of the night, desperate to find another vehicle. They even filed a formal complaint on the 'Lal Pari' app, begging for intervention. But with no alternative transport at 2 am, they were forced back into what became a death trap," added Mhatre.
An hour after the passengers' pleas went unanswered, the bus reached the steep, winding slopes of the Sukeli Valley. Witnesses say the speeding vehicle flipped multiple times, ejecting passengers through shattered windows into the pitch-black ravine.
Naeem Nizam Sheikh (33) of Kamothe and Neelam Vaibhav Vibhute (40) of Panvel were killed instantly.
The medical toll
At MGM Hospital, the scene was one of chaos and heartbreak.
"We received 22 patients—16 males and six females," said Dr Kuldeep Salgotra, dean of MGM Hospital.
"Twelve are in serious condition, and five are in the ICU with multiple traumas to the head, chest, and pelvis. One young man has lost his foot entirely; the damage is too severe for reattachment," Dr Salgotra added.
Among the survivors is a one-and-a-half-year-old toddler, whose miracle escape stands in stark contrast to the driver, Patil, who is currently in a coma at a government hospital in Alibaug.
The Maharashtra government touts its "Lal Pari" and transport apps as safety nets. Yet, here is a group of citizens who used the technology exactly as intended—to report a life-threatening situation in real-time. They did their part. They flagged the danger. They even staged a physical protest on the highway.
The numbers
46: Total passengers on board
2: Lives lost (Naeem Sheikh & Neelam Vibhute)
22: Rushed to MGM Kamothe
1: Foot amputated (20-year-old survivor)
1.5: Age of the youngest survivor
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