Panic gripped the Thane-Belapur route in Navi Mumbai on Sunday evening when a state transport bus experienced a sudden brake failure while navigating a descent. The runaway vehicle plowed into multiple cars and auto-rickshaws, leaving a trail of damaged automobiles and resulting in injuries to nine people. Authorities confirmed that no fatalities were recorded from the collision, and all passengers aboard the bus escaped without any harm.
Bus loses control on the Belapur Khind descent
According to available details, the public transport bus had departed from the Mumbai bus depot at approximately 4 pm heading toward Murud. As it reached the Belapur Khind area at around 6 pm and began moving down the slope beneath the bridge, the braking system unexpectedly stopped functioning. The driver made frantic efforts to steer the heavy vehicle toward the roadside and regain control, but the momentum on the incline made those attempts futile. Consequently, the bus rammed into roughly six vehicles travelling directly ahead of it, causing extensive damage to several cars and auto-rickshaws caught in the path.
Injured passengers rushed to MGM Hospital
The violent impact resulted in injuries to nine individuals, comprising people travelling inside the affected cars and auto-rickshaws. Emergency responders reached the scene promptly to assist the victims. All nine injured persons were shifted to the MGM Hospital located in CBD Belapur for medical treatment. Police officials noted that there were 10 passengers inside the bus at the time of the mishap, and remarkably, none of them sustained any injuries. Following the incident, the stranded bus passengers were safely transferred to an alternative bus and sent onward to their intended destinations.
Police details and traffic management
Belapur police inspector Lakhan Raskar stated that preliminary inquiries indicate mechanical failure on the slope led to the loss of control. Law enforcement personnel cleared the wreckage from the roadway to restore normal traffic flow along the busy corridor. Incidents of this nature have reignited discussions concerning the routine mechanical inspection and fitness standards of public transport fleets operating across hilly terrains and steep inclines in the region.
Prior transport incidents in Maharashtra
This event follows other recent transport-related emergencies reported within Maharashtra during the same month. Earlier, a massive fire erupted in a bus underneath the Goregaon Metro station along the Western Express Highway in Mumbai, triggering severe traffic congestion and temporary disruptions in train halts. That vehicle was nearly empty when a technical anomaly prompted the driver to step outside just before flames engulfed the chassis and thick smoke billowed into the elevated metro station above, though no casualties were reported then either. Separately, the city witnessed another tragic incident earlier in the month where two young men aged 18 and 24 lost their lives after inhaling noxious fumes inside a public restroom.
