8 killed, 25 hurt as pick-up van falls off road on hilly terrain in Pune district

Eight women on their way to a temple were killed and 25 persons injured after a pick-up van they were travelling in fell off the road on a hilly terrain in Pune district on Monday, police said.

According to preliminary information, the driver lost control, causing the pick-up van, carrying 30 to 35 passengers, most of them women and children, to veer off the road and plunge 25 to 30 feet.

The accident occurred around 1 pm when the victims, who hailed from Papalwadi village, were travelling to Shree Kshetra Mahadev Kundeshwar Temple in Khed tehsil in western Maharashtra to mark an auspicious day of the Shravan month, police said.

"There were 30 to 35 passengers, mostly women and children, in the pick-up van. The vehicle plunged 25 to 30 feet down the road after the driver lost control of the wheels at Pait village," an official from Pimpri Chinchwad police said.

Locals rushed to the spot and alerted the police.

The official said that 10 ambulances were dispatched to the scene, and the injured were rushed to nearby hospitals.

Eight women have died in the accident, and around 25 others sustained injuries, he said.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed grief over the tragedy and announced compensation of Rs 4 lakh each to the kin of the deceased persons.

"A tragic incident has taken place in which seven people died after a pick-up van met with an accident. I offer my condolences to the families of the deceased. Rs 4 lakh aid will be given to the next of kin of the deceased," he stated in a post on X.