A Pune ghat crash on the Bhimashankar Road killed two people and injured four others after an Eco car carrying six occupants plunged 150 to 200 feet into a gorge at Pokhari Ghat on Wednesday evening, according to police. The accident took place at about 4.30 pm as the occupants travelled from Dimbhe towards Bhimashankar in Pune district.
Police said the vehicle went off the road while negotiating a bend and overturned in the gorge. The car, registered as MH 14 KW 2091, was carrying the driver and five passengers. The incident occurred on a stretch where there was no protective roadside railing, raising concerns about safety measures along the ghat road.
The two people who died were identified as Dnyaneshwar Govind Gawari, also known as Pandurang, around 40, from Gothewadi-Nigdale, and Kalabai Gajanan Kengale from Bhojanewadi-Shinoli. The four injured occupants were identified as Subhadra Pramod Kengle and Kanchan Sandeep Kengle, both from Jambhori; Yogesh Deoram Bhange from Tambe in Junnar; and Shivaji Maruti Damse from Gohe Khurd.
Personnel from Ghodegaon police station reached the location after receiving information about the crash. Local residents assisted police personnel in the rescue operation, as the occupants had to be retrieved from the deep gorge. The injured people and the deceased were initially taken to a hospital in Ghodegaon.
They were later shifted to Manchar for further medical treatment and related procedures. The police account did not provide details about the condition of each injured person beyond confirming that four occupants survived the crash and were taken for treatment.
The absence of a roadside barrier has placed attention on the road design and safety arrangements at Pokhari Ghat. Police said the location had no protective railing despite the presence of a sharp bend and a deep drop beside the road. According to the police, a railing could potentially have stopped the vehicle from falling into the gorge or reduced the severity of the accident; this remains an assessment attributed to the police and not an independently established finding.
The crash has also brought renewed attention to protective infrastructure along the Bhimashankar route, particularly at vulnerable bends and stretches bordering steep slopes. The supplied report does not identify the agency responsible for installing or maintaining a barrier at the location, nor does it mention any immediate official order or timeline for adding one. The immediate response remained focused on rescue, hospital treatment and procedures related to the two fatalities.
