Thane tragedy: 11 killed, two injured as van rams into cement mixer in Maharashtra

A van collided head-on with a cement mixer on a bridge in Maharashtra’s Thane district on Monday, killing eleven people and leaving two others critically injured, police said.

The accident occurred around 10:45 am on Raita bridge in Govili village of Murbad, according to a district rural police official, according to PTI.

The van was travelling from Kalyan to Murbad when it crashed into the oncoming cement mixer, the official added.

The two injured were rushed to the central hospital at Ulhasnagar, Murbad tehsildar Abhijit Deshmukh said. Among the victims, six have have been identified and the identification process continues, a senior police official mentioned.

The official said the victims included eight men and three women. Traffic on the Kalyan–Ahilyanagar route was disrupted for a few hours following the accident, but the road has since been cleared, he added.

Previous related incidents

A man allegedly attempting to flee with his minor sister-in-law rammed his car into relatives and their friend who were chasing him on motorcycles, killing three people near Korwa village in Uttar Pradesh, police said on Monday.

The vehicle also struck another motorcycle passing by, leaving four members of a family seriously injured.

The incident took place on the Banda–Kanpur road on Sunday night. Police said the accused, identified as Deepak Soni, was fleeing after a family dispute involving his minor sister-in-law.

According to officials, the victims had been pursuing the car and had managed to overtake it when the accused deliberately drove into them.

Police said the entire episode stemmed from a domestic conflict. The accused is currently absconding.

"Preliminary findings suggest the driver may have deliberately rammed the motorcycles chasing his car," SHO of Bindki police station Pramod Kumar Rao mentioned.

The deceased were identified as Deepak Soni’s relatives Satyavan Soni (26) and Manoj Soni (18), along with their friend Annu Sonkar (40), who was riding a separate motorcycle. All three were thrown off their vehicles due to the impact and died on the spot, said Circle Officer (Bindki) Pragati Yadav.

The injured have been identified as Surendra Kumar (30), his sister Mamta Devi (35), and her children Pallavi (8) and Arpit (10).

Meanwhile, at least 12 passengers were injured after a Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus crashed into a hillside while travelling on a mountain road near Amb on Sunday, officials said.

The incident occurred near Sidh Chalehar when the bus, carrying around 50 passengers and heading from Dharamshala to Punjab’s Hoshiarpur, reportedly suffered a possible brake failure, making it difficult for the driver to stop the vehicle.

A major tragedy was avoided as the driver skillfully steered the bus into the rocky slope along the road to halt it, preventing it from falling into a gorge. During the attempt, a car parked outside a roadside eatery was also struck and damaged.