18 Dead As Truck Overturns Near Pune; Driver "Dozed Off", Suspect Police

Khandala, Maharashtra: At least 18 construction workers were killed, including several women, and 15 others injured when a speeding truck overturned in western Maharashtra's Satara district this morning, the police said. Three of them continue to be a critical condition, an officer said.

The labourers on the truck were travelling from Karnataka's Bijapur to a construction site in Pune when the driver reportedly lost control over the vehicle which rammed a barricade near Khambatki ghat before overturning on Mumbai-Bengaluru highway, about 250 km from Mumbai, Satara Superintendent of Police Sandeep Patil said.

The 'S' shaped road near the Khandala tunnel with a sharp turn is considered dangerous and numerous accidents have been reported on the stretch.

"They were carrying some sharp and heavy equipment in the truck. When the vehicle overturned, the equipment fell on the labourers. Many of them died due to head injuries," the SP said.

The Khandala police rushed the injured to a nearby hospital, Mr Patil said according to news agency Press Trust of India.

The police are looking at the possible causes of the accident, the officer said, adding that they suspect the driver "dozed off" and lost control of the vehicle while managing a difficult turn.

The bodies have been sent for postmortem and the process to identify the victims is on, the police added.

The deadly crash came just a day after 30 people, including 27 children, were killed when a school bus plunged into a ravine in the Himalayan foothills.

With inputs from agencies