Two students killed, 47 injured as bus overturns in Maharashtra’s Raigad district

Mumbai Two students were killed and 47 others injured when a bus overturned in a hilly area near Khopoli town in Maharashtra’s Raigad district on Sunday night. These students were returning after having a picnic in Lonavala. Police gave this information. Prima facie it appears that the bus driver lost control of the vehicle due to brake failure. The incident took place near ‘Magic Point’ hillock on the old Mumbai-Pune highway, about 14 km from Lonavala hill station, around 8 pm, an official said.

The private bus was carrying 49 students of a coaching class in suburban Chembur, they said. He said that all of them are class 10 students. The bus driver lost control of the vehicle at Ghat (hill road) area near Khopoli due to brake failure when the students were returning from a picnic at Lonavala (located in Pune district), the official said. All the students and the driver were injured in the accident, he said. They were taken to hospitals in Lonavala and Khopoli.

Two students aged 17 and 16, who were seriously injured, were declared brought dead, the official said. The deceased have been identified as Hitika Khanna, a resident of Chembur Camp, and Raj Rajesh Mhatre (16), a resident of Asalfa village in suburban Ghatkopar, he said. The process of registering an FIR is on, the official said.