Nightmare at Ghonse Ghat; 22 killed as bus plunges 45 ft down

Twenty-two passengers were killed and over 30 injured when a State Transport headed towards Dive Aaghar veered out of control and plunged into the Ghonse ghat near Raigad’s Mhasala tehsil, on Saturday morning.

Twenty-two passengers were killed and over 30 injured when a State Transport headed towards Dive Aaghar veered out of control and plunged into the Ghonse ghat near Raigad’s Mhasala tehsil, on Saturday morning. The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus had left the Thane depot early Saturday morning and was passing through the ghat when the driver veered off the road at a sharp turn.

“The accident occurred at around 11 am when the bus was negotiating the sharp turns on the Ghonse ghat. The driver must have lost control as the bus veered off the road when it was supposed to take a turn towards the left and directly plunged into the ghat, 40-45 feet below,” said Police sub-inspector P P Chauhan of the Mhasala police station.

Police personnel and local villagers had immediately reached the spot and commenced rescue operations. They had to break the glass panes and cut through the windows of the bus to rescue the trapped passengers.

The accident spot falls around seven kilometers away from Mhasale and around 21 kms from Dive Aaghar. Many of the injured were rushed to a hospital in Mangaon which is located around 17 kms from the scene of the accident.

Officials at the Mhasala police station said that while 18 persons had died on the spot and at the local hospital at Mhasala, four others had succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment at Mangaon. “A total of 36 passengers were injured and we have sent over 22 injured passengers to Mumbai,” said P R Dighavkar, Superintendent of police, Raigad.

He added that the police would register a case of rash an negligent driving in the matter.

According to the police officials most of passengers hailed from nearby villages and hence their relatives were able to reach Mhasale quickly and all the dead bodies have been handed over to the respective families.

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“Yesterday was Bhau-bheej and hence the bus was filled with passengers returning to their homes after celebrating the festival. Usually such buses stop at Mangaon which is thronged by villagers who visit the hospital but as this bus was packed, we have learnt that the driver did not halt there today,” said Chauhan.

According to the police the bus conductor Balasaheb Narute, a Miraj resident died on the spot as the bus collapsed to the left crushing the conductor’s seat, while the driver B H Chauhan succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment at Mangaon.Among the deceased were two children namely six year-old Vedant Kulkarni, a Satara resident and 14 year-old Santosh Ketkar from Thane.

The Ghonse ghat is notorious for having seen several accidents all caused due to drivers’ inability to tackle sharp bends and still stay on the narrow road. Two months prior to Saturday’s accident a mini-bus carrying a family of four had also careened of the road while passing through the ghat and the father and his 10 month old daughter were killed.

Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh directed MSRTC’s Managing Director O P Gupta to ensure that the families of those killed in the accident receive a compensation of Rs one lakh while the injured are given aid in accordance with the prescribed procedure.