Eight Dead in Pune Highway Multi-Vehicle Crash

A tragic multi-vehicle collision on the Navale Bridge along the Mumbai-Bengaluru Highway in Pune, Maharashtra, claimed eight lives and injured at least 14 others on Thursday evening. The accident, which unfolded around 5:45 p.m., involved a container truck that lost control and slammed into more than a dozen vehicles, sparking a massive fire that engulfed several cars and trucks.

Authorities attributed the crash to a brake failure on the steep slope of the bridge, a stretch notorious for accidents. The truck, headed toward Mumbai, veered out of control and struck a minibus and other vehicles before colliding with another large container truck. A family car became trapped between the two heavy vehicles and was crushed, igniting immediately. All five occupants of the car perished at the scene: two men, two women, and a three-year-old girl who were returning from a visit to the Narayanpur temple in Pune district. The truck's driver, Rustam Khan, 35, and cleaner, Mushtaq Khan, 31, both from Rajasthan, also died in the blaze. The eighth victim was identified as a resident of Satara district.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Sambhaji Kadam described the scene as devastating, noting that...