Samruddhi Expressway accident: CM Shinde expresses grief over deaths, announces relief for victims

Samruddhi Expressway accident Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde on Sunday expressed grief over the lost of lives after a speeding minibus hit a container truck on Samruddhi Expressway in Maharashtras Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district in the early hours of Sunday and announced relief for victims of the incident an official statement said on SundayAt least 12 people were killed and 23 others injured in the accident the police saidAs many as 35 passengers were travelling by the private bus They were returning to Nashik after visiting the Sailani Baba dargah in Buldhana district an official saidSwift rescue efforts were initiated immediately following the accident and Chief Minister Shinde closely monitored the situation He also requested a thorough investigation into the accidents cause and emphasized the need to hold those responsible accountable the statement saidThe statement said that the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde deeply saddened In the wake of this tragedy he has pledged financial support of five lakh rupees to the families of the deceased and has issued clear instructions for the government to bear the expenses of the injured victims treatmentMeanwhile President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed grief over the loss of lives in the accidentThe Prime Ministers Office PMO in a post on X said an exgratia of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Ministers National Relief Fund PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased and the injured persons would be given Rs 50000The accident took place shortly after midnight on Sunday in Vaijapur area of the expressway located nearly 80 km from the district headquarters and 350 km from state capital Mumbai as per officialsThe bus driver lost control over the wheels As a result the bus hit the stationary container truck from the rear side near Jambargaon toll plaza police officials saidPrima facie the minibus was overloaded It had the capacity to carry 17 people but nearly 35 passengers were travelling on it an official from Vaijapur police station told PTITwelve passengers were killed The deceased include five men six women and a minor girl inspector Shyamsundar Kavthale from Vaijapur police station saidThe official said 23 others received injuries and they were admitted to hospital The bus driver was among those hurt He received a head injury the official saidA control room of the Samruddhi Expressway received a call about the accident through the RTO at 1207 am An assistance team and ambulance reached the location in a few minutes an official from the Samruddhi Expressway control room told PTIThe bus driver claimed he saw the truck in front of his vehicle suddenly before the accident The truck driver has been detained he saidSome locals alerted the police about the accidentThe accident took place on the first lane from the crash barrier side where the vehicles are supposed to move at a speed of 80 km per hour The minibus collided with the truck on the first lane from the road shoulder We had to cut a part of the minibus from the drivers side to bring people out of the vehicle an official from the expressway control room saidThe deceased have been identified as Tanushri Solse 5 Sangeeta Aswale 40 Panjabi Jagtap 38 Kajal Solse 32 Rajani Tapase 32 Hausabai Shirsat 70 Zumbar Gangurde 58 Amol Gangurde 18 Sarika Gangurde 40 Milind Pagare 50 Deepak Kekane 47 all from Nashik and Ratan Jamdade 45 from Vaijapur in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar the police saidThe PMO in a post on X said Pained by the loss of lives due to an accident in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district My thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones I wish the injured a speedy recovery An exgratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased The injured would be given Rs 50000The Samruddhi Mahamarg named Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg is a 701kmlong expressway connecting Mumbai and NagpurIt traverses 10 districts including Nagpur Washim Wardha Ahmednagar Buldhana Aurangabad Amravati Jalna Nashik and ThaneThe construction of the Samruddhi Mahamarg is being carried out by the Maharashtra State Road Development CorporationThe first phase connecting Nagpur to the temple town of Shirdi was inaugurated by PM Modi in December 2022 It covers a distance of 520 kmwith PTI inputs