Maharashtra: 4 cars collide with ambulance at Bandra-Worli Sea Link in Mumbai, leaves 5 dead, 8 injured

On Wednesday morning, police said 5 people were killed and eight others were injured as a car crashed into an accident site and hit three stationary cars and an ambulance on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link in Maharashtra's Mumbai. 

The deceased worked for the private firm which managed the toll booth on the bridge, said an official of the firm. The driver of the speeding Creta car, a builder by profession, was arrested in the evening. The fatal accident took place around 3 am between pole numbers 76 and 78 on the southbound carriageway of the bridge which connects Bandra in the western suburbs to Worli in south Mumbai. 

Footage of the crash was recorded by CCTV cameras. A little while before, a car had hit another car on the bridge and an ambulance and a towing van had been sent to the spot for assistance, said a senior police official. Passengers in another car saw this and stopped at the spot to help, he said. 

READ | Mega Sena vs Sena Dussehra showdown: Uddhav calls Shinde camp 'parasites', CM reminds him of '2019 betrayal'

At this point, a car coming at high speed from behind rammed into these three stationary cars and the ambulance, the official said. Six of the injured were undergoing treatment at different hospitals. Two others were allowed to go after being treated for minor injuries, police said. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered condolences to the families of the deceased and wished speedy recovery to those injured. "Pained by the loss of lives due to an accident on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link in Mumbai. Condolences to the bereaved families. I hope that those who have been injured have a speedy recovery," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted. 

READ | 'Pushpa says jhukega nahi' vs 'not your private limited company': Top quotes from Uddhav-Shinde Dussehra faceoff

Sanjeev Jha, general manager, operations and maintenance of Roadways Solution India Infra Ltd which manages the toll booth on the bridge, said the deceased were working for his company. They had rushed to the spot when the first accident took place, he said. He identified the deceased -- all male -- as Satyendra Faujdar who hailed from Bharatpur in Rajasthan, Gajaraj Singh from Madhya Pradesh, Rajendra Rajput, Chetan Kadam, and ambulance driver Somnath Salve. Another employee, Hemant Toraskar, was seriously injured and was undergoing treatment at Lilavati Hospital in the city, he said.

Worli Police arrested Irfan Bilakiya (40), a builder, for allegedly driving the car which crashed into other four vehicles. He was arrested from the private hospital where he had got admitted following the accident. "We are ascertaining if he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the accident. He has been booked under IPC section 304-A (causing death by negligence) and other offences," said a police official.