An ill-fated bus carrying 34 people to Mahabaleshwar for a picnic fell into a deep gorge off Ambenali Ghat and claimed 33 lives in Raigad district on July 28. The death toll was confirmed by Raigad collector Vijay Suryawanshi.
Prakash Sawant Desai, was the only person who survived the accident as he jumped out of the bus, said police inspector Balkrushna Jadhav of Raigad police.
The mishap took place in Poladpur, around 200 km from Mumbai, according to state highway traffic officials.
Police reported that the passengers were from Dr Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, an agricultural university at Dapoli in Ratnagiri district, and were going on a picnic to Mahabaleshawar. While taking a sharp turn at Poladpur around 11.30 am, the driver lost control and the bus fell into the gorge.
A National Disaster Response Force team from Pune was roped in to help with the casualties as well as local rescuers and policemen from Poladpur station rushed to the spot for rescue operations.
Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to extend his sympathies and requested all possible help from his party members in the vicinity.
Narendra Modi too offered his condolences and grieved over the loss of lives in the mishap.
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