Mumbai: 5 dead as car crashes into accident site on Bandra-Worli Sea Link

Five persons were killed and eight injured when a car crashed into an accident site and hit three stationary cars and an ambulance on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link here on Wednesday early morning, police said. The deceased worked for the private firm which managed the toll booth on the bridge, said an official of the firm.

The fatal accident took place around 3 am between pole numbers 76 and 78 on the south-bound carriageway of the bridge which connects Bandra in the western suburbs to Worli in south Mumbai.

Footage of the crash was recorded by CCTV cameras. A little while before, a car had hit another car on the bridge and an ambulance and a towing van had been sent to the spot for assistance, said a senior police official.

Passengers in another car saw this and stopped at the spot to help, he said.

At this point, another car coming at high speed from behind rammed into these three stationary cars and the ambulance, the official said. Six of the injured were undergoing treatment at different hospitals. Two others were allowed to go after being treated for minor injuries, police said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered condolences to the families of the deceased and wished speedy recovery to those injured. "Pained by the loss of lives due to an accident on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link in Mumbai. Condolences to the bereaved families. I hope that those who have been injured have a speedy recovery," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted. Sanjeev Jha, general manager, operations and maintenance of Roadways Solution India Infra Ltd which manages the toll booth on the bridge, said the deceased were working for his company.

They had rushed to the spot when the first accident took place, he said. He identified the deceased -- all male -- as Satyendra Faujdar who hailed from Bharatpur in Rajasthan, Gajaraj Singh from Madhya Pradesh, Rajendra Rajput, Chetan Kadam and ambulance driver Somnath Salve (32). Another employee, Hemant Toraskar, was seriously injured and was undergoing treatment at Lilavati Hospital in the city, he said. "All of them were working here for the last many years," said Pradeep Mishra, another employee.