12 killed, 23 injured in road accident on Samruddhi Mahamarg; 100 fatalities in nine months

Twelve persons, including a four months old child, died after a mini bus lost control and rammed into a container on the Samruddhi Mahamarg in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad on Sunday.

According to the police, the victims were travelling to Nashik from Buldhana Sailani Bana Dargah when their minibus rammed into a container truck early in the morning.

Around 23 people were injured in the collision.

The accident is the latest in a series of major accidents that have repeatedly occurred on the expressway, raising safety concerns.

A total of 729 accidents have taken place on the expressway between December 2022 and August this year of which 46 were fatal, resulting in the death of 101 people, The Indian Express reported quoting officials.

Samruddhi Mahamarg, officially known as Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg, is a 701-km stretch connecting Mumbai and Nagpur.

It is the country’s second longest expressway and, when fully operational, it is expected to reduce the travel time between Nagpur and Mumbai to eight hours from 16.