A joyous journey to an engagement ceremony within the family quickly took a grim turn after 13 people onboard a tempo died in a devastating road crash in Maharashtra’s Palghar on Monday evening, the police said. The wreckage unfolded on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway, when the tempo laden with wedding guests was rammed by a container truck. 

According to officials, 11 victims sustained grievous injuries in the incident and succumbed while receiving treatment at the Kasa Sub-district hospital, while two others died at the Vedanta Hospital in Dahanu. 

Tempo driver was allegedly driving on the wrong side

Preliminary findings by the police suggest that the victims were travelling from Bapugaon in Dahanu to attend an engagement function in Dhanivari when the accident unfolded. As per police, the tempo, ferrying over 40 passengers, had been moving on the wrong side of the highway to avoid a detour of nearly one kilometre. At 4 pm, a container truck bound for Mumbai and arriving from Gujarat lost control near a village stretch on the highway, plowing into the left side of the tempo. 

The intensity of the colision was so fierce that several passengers were crushed instantly during the wreckage, as the truck turned turtle onto the tempo. Multiple passengers were trapped inside the mangled vehicle, and a bike following the tempo was also caught in the deadly collision. Eyewitnesses said the highway was strewn with debris. 

Locals and emergency responders rushed to the scene immediately and launched rescue efforts to pull out the injured, as well as recover bodies trapped beneath the wreckage. 

Maharashtra CM announces solatium for kin of deceased

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis expressed profound sorrow over the loss of lives and announced a solatium of Rs 5 lakh each for the families of the ones who died. In a message posted on his official ‘X’ handle, Fadnavis termed the incident ‘deeply saddening’ and extended condolences to the bereaved families of the victims. He also prayed for the speedy recovery of those injured in the accident. 

Take a look at CM Fadnavis's tweet below:

Palghar Superintendent of Police (SP) Yatish Deshmukh said that primary investigations point towards the tempo driver's fault, though an in-depth probe is still underway. The Palghar district administration has also ordered an inquiry to establish the exact sequence of events and identify whether negligence or violation of traffic norms contributed to the catastrophic incident.