Raigad bus accident: 33 killed as vehicle plunges into 500-feet-deep gorge

KOLHAPUR/NAVI MUMBAI/PUNE: Thirty-three passengers were feared killed after a private bus carrying employees of Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli plunged into a 500-feet-deep gorge at Ambenali ghat area in Poladpur in Maharashtra's Raigad district on Saturday morning. They were travelling to Mahabaleshwar. The rescue teams are busy in recovering the bodies. Only one person who was thrown out from window of bus was saved in the accident.
The Maharashtra government has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of those who died.The government will also bear the medical expenses of those injured.

According to Prakash Sawant-Desai, the lone survivor from the bus, the driver of the bus turned back for a second to talk with passengers and the bus fell in the gorge.

The group ahead of their bus journey.
Desai was thrown out of bus from window and stuck to the branches of a tree downside. He later managed to come on road after half-an hour and later informed the college about accident.

"All the passengers were travelling and chitchatting with each other while crossing the ghat section. The driver turned back to give response to joke of one of the passengers for a second and before we could understand anything, the bus fell in the gorge. I was thrown outside the bus," said Desai.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the government would investigate the accident.
"The accident is unfortunate. We will investigate the accident. Agriculture junior minister Sadabhau Khot has been sent to the spot. The families will be compensated for, but we will find out how the accident has occurred," the chief minister said.

Police call local trekkers for the rescue work
Sandip Patil, superintendent of police, Satara district, said, "Immediately after we got information about the incident, we sent our police teams from Mahabaleshwar, Wail and Satara, including deputy superintendent and police inspectors at the spot. The teams of district disaster management along with local rescue teams including Mahabaleshwar trekkers from Mahabaleshwar were sent on the spot."

"It is difficult for teams from Raigad district to reach the spot, hence we co-ordinated with our counterparts and sent our teams at the spot. The police teams from Mahad will be reaching soon at the spot," he said.

"The initial information we have received suggests that all the 33 persons that were in bus have been killed in the accident,” he said.
The NDRF team from Pune has been rushed to the accident spot to help the rescue operation.

Around 150 youths from different groups - including Mahabaleshwar trekkers, Sahyadri trekkers from Mahad, Konkan Kada trekkers from Mahad, young blade adventure members from Mahabaleshwar and Sahyadri trekkers from Kolhapur - are busy in recovering bodies of the deceased persons.
They have succeeded in recovering 11 bodies so far. Some bodies are crushed under the bus and it has become difficult to remove the bodies as there are chances of bodies falling deep in gorge further.
The trekkers have stated that they may discontinue the work in the evening and they may resume it on Sunday morning, said police. The recovered bodies have been taken to Poladpur for post-mortem.
( With inputs from Atul Deshpande)