Gas Tanker Overturns on Mumbai-Pune Expressway, Halts Traffic 18 Hours

A gas tanker carrying highly flammable propylene gas overturned on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway near the Adoshi tunnel in Raigad district's Khandala Ghat section on Tuesday evening, triggering an 18-hour traffic disruption that stranded hundreds of vehicles and left passengers without basic amenities overnight.

The incident occurred around 5 p.m. when the tanker, traveling toward Mumbai, lost control on a steep slope and flipped over, officials said. Gas immediately began leaking from the vehicle, prompting highway police to close the Mumbai-bound carriageway as a precaution to prevent potential ignition from heat or sparks. Emergency teams, including the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, and personnel from Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, were deployed to the site to contain the leak and neutralize the cargo. By Wednesday morning, authorities reported that about 50 percent of the gas had been safely vented, with operations to handle the remainder expected to continue into the evening.

The closure caused a massive jam stretching more than 12 kilometers along the 94.5-kilometer expressway, one of India's busiest routes connecting the financial...