Overview
- A truck struck a Bolero/tempo pickup from behind on Channel 97 of the Samruddhi Expressway near Dhamangaon, causing multiple deaths and many injuries.
- Early reports differ on the death toll with one account citing five fatalities and another reporting at least seven, while authorities say about 21 people were injured.
- The pickup was carrying devotees reported to be transporting a Durga idol between towns, which places the crash in the context of religious travel.
- Local residents and journalists began immediate rescue efforts before Dhamangaon Railway Police arrived and injured people were taken to Dhamangaon Rural Hospital with some later referred to Wardha Medical College.
- Senior police officers and local officials visited the hospital and a detailed police inquiry is under way to determine the circumstances of the rear-end collision and to confirm final casualty figures.