Pune: A tragic accident occurred early this morning on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway when a State Transport (ST) bus collided with a truck near Talegaon.

The incident took place around 3:15 AM, resulting in the death of one passenger and injuries to eight others, including the bus driver and conductor.

The deceased has been identified as Vishwanath Bhagwan Waghmare from Karegaon, Pathardi.

The injured individuals include ST bus driver Akolkar, conductor Khandagale (full name not available), and passengers Kajal Baloo Gaikwad from Paragav, Beed, Meena Suresh Kedar, and Mahadev Keru Pakhare from Pathardi. The names of four other injured passengers have not yet been disclosed.

According to highway police reports, the Mumbai-bound ST bus (MH 14 BT 4258) struck the truck carrying rice (MH 12 PQ 8748) from behind. The collision resulted in the immediate death of one passenger, while the driver and seven others sustained injuries.

Emergency services, including the Kamshat police highway safety team and ambulance personnel, arrived swiftly at the accident site to conduct rescue operations.

In a separate incident at Borghat, a woman named Shrishti Jain was injured when her car collided with a tempo. Jain was driving her vehicle (MH 19 BIV 9900) towards Mumbai when she lost control while navigating a steep incline and curve, crashing through the median into an oncoming tempo (MH 12 SF 3772). She suffered serious injuries as a result of the crash.

The accidents have led to significant traffic disruptions on the Pune-Mumbai expressway, with vehicles halted on both sides to clear the wreckage.

Long queues have formed at Egg Point towards Mumbai and at Lonavala on the Pune side. The highway police are actively working to restore normal traffic flow, which has been slow due to increased weekend traffic.