A horrific accident at the Dwarka Chowk flyover on Sunday evening (12th) claimed the lives of five devotees and left 13 others injured. The incident occurred around 7:30 pm when a tempo carrying male devotees returning from Dharangaon in Niphad taluka rammed into a stationary iron bar truck (MH25U 0508).
Among the deceased were Santosh and Atul Mandlik, two brothers from CIDCO. All five victims were residents of Sahyadrinagar, CIDCO, Nashik. The injured have been admitted to a private hospital in Lekha Nagar and the district civil hospital for treatment.
The devotees were returning from a religious event hosted by Chetan Gambhir, a resident of CIDCO Sahyadrinagar. Earlier in the day, separate tempos were arranged to transport male and female devotees to the religious site at Dharangaon near Naitalegaon. After the evening program, the women returned first in one tempo, followed by the men's tempo (MH15 FV 5601).
The men's tempo collided with the truck while crossing the flyover. The impact was so severe that the tempo was shattered, and iron bars pierced the vehicle's cabin.
Emergency services, including Bhadrakali Police, the traffic branch, fire brigade teams, three 108 ambulances, and private ambulances, rushed to the spot for rescue operations. The injured were quickly shifted to nearby hospitals for immediate medical care.
Police are investigating the incident further to determine the exact cause of the crash.