Thane:
Twenty six persons were killed and 12 injured when a bus collided with a truck and fell into a ravine in Thane district, around 154 km from Thane, today.
The bus carrying a total of 38 passengers was on its way from Thane to Ahmednagar when it fell into the 400-feet Malshej ravines near Tokawade in the morning, an officer in the disaster control management room said.
"As per initial information available with me, a truck collided with the Maharashtra State Road Transport bus, knocking it down the valley," Maharashtra State Road Transport General Manager (Traffic) Suryakant Ambawdekar said.
20 bodies are kept at Ottur village while six bodies are in a hospital at Junnar.
Twelve injured have been admitted to hospitals in and around Thane and Pune, control room sources said.
District Disaster Control Officer Jaideep Visave said "the district headquarters got the message around at 10.30 am and a team comprising police personnel, medical attendants and rescue workers was rushed to the spot.
Murbad Tehsildar Prashant Joshi said many of the injured comprised women and help had been sought from trekkers to retrieve injured people from the valley.
Malshej Ghat is a famous picnic spot located in the Sahyadri mountain ranges, located on the border of Thane and Ahmednagar districts.
Maharashtra government this evening announced compensation of Rs two lakh each for the kin of the deceased.
Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said the compensation would be given from the Chief Minister's relief fund. The injured will be given Rs 50,000 each.
Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation's chairman, Jeevan Gore, said the Corporation would give Rs 3 lakh each to the families of the deceased.
Gore told PTI that the rescue team found it very difficult to extricate the bodies from the bus which was reduced to a complete wreck.