Two killed, four hurt as Eco car plunges into gorge at Pokhri Ghat on Bhimashankar road

Two people were killed and four injured when an Eco car fell into a deep gorge at Pokhri Ghat on the Bhimashankar road in Pune district on Wednesday evening. There were six people in the vehicle, the driver and five passengers. The car is said to have gone off the road at a bend, fallen about 150 to 200 feet and overturned.

The accident took place at around 4.30 pm. The group was travelling from Dimbhe towards Bhimashankar in the car, registration number MH 14 KW 2091. The driver is said to have lost control of the vehicle while taking the bend.

One of the dead is Dnyaneshwar Govind Gavari, about 40, of Gothewadi-Nigdale, who was also known as Pandurang. The other dead passenger is Kalabai Gajanan Kengale of Bhojanewadi-Shinoli.

The four injured include Subhadra Pramod Kengale and Kanchan Sandeep Kengale of Jambhori. Yogesh Devram Bhange of Tambe in Junnar taluka and Shivaji Maruti Damse of Gohe Khurd were also injured.

On learning of the accident, personnel of Ghodegaon police station reached the spot. With the help of local residents, the police began a rescue operation to bring out the people trapped in the vehicle in the gorge.

The injured and the dead were first taken to a hospital at Ghodegaon. They were then moved to Manchar for further medical treatment and other formalities.

The police said there was no crash barrier at the roadside where the car fell into the gorge. Concern is being voiced that without barriers there is a risk of vehicles leaving the road on ghat roads, especially at sharp bends.

According to the police, had there been a barrier at the spot, the car might have been saved from falling into the gorge and the severity of the accident might have been lower. The incident has again drawn attention to road safety measures on the Bhimashankar route and the need for crash barriers at dangerous spots.