Ten die in Maharashtra road accident

Ten people were killed and at least 35 injured when the luxury bus they were travelling in fell into a deep ditch along the Pune-Solapur Highway late Monday, officials said.

A majority of the dead on the Kolhapur-Mumbai luxury bus were from Porbandar city in Gujarat. The dead include seven women, officials said.

The accident was reported at around 9.45 p.m. Monday in the treacherous Khambatki Ghat area of the highway when the bus was negotiating a sharp 'S turn', according to highway police official D. Bhelare.

"The driver apparently lost control on the 'S turn' and the bus went off the road into a ditch (which was) at least 20 feet deep. Six passengers died instantly, while the rest died on way to hospital," Bhelare told IANS.

The tragedy was compounded when at least three private vehicles that stopped to help the bus accident victims were hit by a speeding container vehicle.

Four people in the cars were injured and their vehicles were badly damaged, he added.

The condition of 11 of the injured is said to be serious, Bhelare said.