Seven Dead, Three Injured in Tragic Collision on Samruddhi Expressway

Around 160 people have so far been killed on the Expressway in accidents since its first phase from Nagpur to Shirdi was inaugurated in December 2022 by PM Modi

Nagpur: At least seven people were killed and three suffered serious injuries in a collision between two vehicles on the Nagpur-Mumbai Expressway, also known as the Samruddhi Expressway near Maharashtra’s Jalna district, late Friday night, police said.

According to the Jalna Police, the accident involved a multi-utility vehicle (MUV) travelling from Nagpur to Mumbai and a car heading in the opposite direction. The incident took place around 11:30pm on Friday near Kadvanchi village.

Police said that while six people were killed on the spot, another person succumbed to injuries at a hospital later.

Local villagers and police responded swiftly to rescue those trapped in the wreckage. The police patrol team that reached the accident spot reported that the speeding Swift Dzire came in from the wrong direction and collided with the MUV, leading to the fatal crash.

According to the police, there were ten occupants in both vehicles. The injured were shifted to the government-run district hospital in Jalna, where three persons are reported to be in critical condition, said police.

Dr Umesh Jadhav, a medical officer at the district hospital in Jalna said that six bodies were brought to the hospital for post-mortem.

“Three injured persons are being treated here, while one critically injured person who was shifted to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad) district died later,” he added.

The deceased were identified as Faizal S. Mansuri, Faiyaz Mansuri, and A L Mansuri, all residents of Malad in Mumbai and Laxman Misal, Sandip Budhwant, and Vilas Kayande, all residents of Buldhana. One of the dead persons is yet to be identified, said police.

Friday night’s mishap is not the first accident. Several major accidents have taken place in the past on one of India’s longest highways.

In July last year, 25 people, including three children, were killed and eight others were injured after a private sleeper coach bus they were travelling in caught fire on the Nagpur-Mumbai Expressway near Buldhana.

Around 160 people have so far been killed on the Expressway in accidents since its first phase from Nagpur to Shirdi was inaugurated in December 2022 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Samruddhi Highway, a six-lane expressway spanning 701 km, connects Mumbai and Nagpur. The first phase was inaugurated on December 11, 2022, by Prime Minister Modi in Nagpur, connecting Nagpur to the temple town of Shirdi in Ahmednagar district, covering a distance of 520 km. Source