18 passengers injured as private bus collides with truck on Mumbai-Pune Expressway

Mumbai: Eighteen passengers were injured, eight of them seriously, after a private bus they were travelling in collided with a stationary truck on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway near Khopoli in Raigad district early on Saturday, police said.

The accident took place around 4 am, a police official said.

"The private bus, which was going to Mumbai from Kolhapur, rammed into the stationary truck. The accident occurred as the driver of the bus apparently lost control over the steering," he said.

Eighteen passengers were injured in the incident and they were rushed to the MGM Hospital at Kamothe in Raigad district, he said, adding that the condition of eight of them, including four women, is said to be critical.

As a result of the accident, the movement of vehicles on the route was affected, but the authorities soon cleared the traffic congestion, he said.

The Khopoli police are probing the incident, according to the official.