Nanded, Oct 17 (PTI) Three persons were killed and three others sustained injuries after a tempo they were travelling in plunged nearly 100 feet into a gorge on a ghat road in Maharashtra’s Nanded district, police said on Saturday.
The accident occurred when the vehicle, carrying pilgrims from Yavatmal, was negotiating a sharp bend on Keroli Ghat in Mahur tehsil around 5 am on Friday, an official said.
The victims, who worked at a furniture shop, were returning to Yavatmal after visiting a temple at Mahur for the ongoing Navratri festival.
According to the police, the tempo was descending the ghat and a vehicle approaching from the opposite direction allegedly came at high speed on the wrong side of the road. Its powerful headlights reportedly blinded the tempo driver, who attempted to steer away to avoid a collision.
However, the absence of a sturdy protective wall or crash barrier at the bend caused the driver to lose control, and the tempo plunged into the deep gorge.
Babarao Dnyanoba Tekam (60), Rahul Sudhakarrao Thakre (25) and Pritam Ramrao Pradhan (38), who were seated in the open cargo section at the rear, were thrown out as the tempo tumbled down the slope.
Thakre and Pradhan died on the spot, while the third man succumbed during treatment, the official said.
The driver, Pratik Arvind Adkine (26), Datta Manohar Meshram (35) and Yashwant Arvind Patil (25), who were seated in the cabin, sustained minor injuries and their condition is stable, the official said.
He said that the tempo and the victims were extricated with the help of ropes and a crane. PTI COR ARU
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