At least 12 persons died and 27 others were injured in a road accident after a bus fell into a gorge in Raigad district of Maharashtra, police said. The incident happened early morning on Saturday.
The private bus was going from Pune to Mumbai when it lost control and fell into the gorge near Shingroba temple on the old Mumbai-Pune highway, police told PTI.
There were around 40 passengers on the bus. They were members of a traditional music troupe. Ambulances and police vehicles reached the site soon after receiving information about the accident.
"The bus was carrying members of 'Baji Prabhu Vaadak Group' from Mumbai's Goregaon. They were returning to Goregaon after taking part in an event in Pimpri Chinchwad area in Pune district. The bus had left the venue around 1 am on Saturday," a senior police official told PTI.
The injured were admitted to the Khopoli Rural Hospital, he added.
Additional SP Atul Zende said the deceased and the injured belonged to the age group of 18 to 25.
Rescue efforts are still on and a team of local police and a trekker's group are currently engaged in the relief operation, police said.
