A massive traffic-jam brought movement on the Mumbai–Pune expressway to a standstill for over twelve hours on Tuesday evening, after a gas tanker overturned
in the Khandala Ghat section. The incident left hundreds of vehicles stranded and triggering massive congestion on both carriageways, officials said on Wednesday. The accident occurred around 5 pm on Tuesday near the Adoshi tunnel in Raigad district when the tanker, allegedly travelling at high speed, lost control on a slope and overturned. The vehicle was carrying propylene gas, which is highly flammable. Soon after the crash, gas began leaking from the tanker, causing panic among motorists. As a precautionary measure, police shut the Mumbai-bound carriageway to prevent any untoward incident. Mumbai-bound vehicles were diverted onto the Pune-bound carriageway for around a 2 km stretch. However, normal traffic movement could not be restored as the gas leak continued for several hours, resulting in long queues and crawling traffic for over 12 hours, even affecting Pune-bound motorists.
Passengers stranded near the accident site remained stuck for hours without access to food, drinking water or toilet facilities.
Passengers stranded for hours, tempers flare
The impact was severe, with several motorists and bus passengers forced to wait overnight. A conductor of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation bus told PTI around midnight that their vehicle had been stationary for over six hours near the accident site, leaving passengers without basic amenities.
Frustration spilled onto social media as stranded commuters appealed for help and warned others to avoid the route.
"People have been stuck and desperately waiting for help. Please do something," wrote X user VyasKarn.
Another user described the chaos on the expressway, saying, "Mumbai-Pune Expressway is a literal parking lot right now. Traffic crawling for hours near Lonavala and Khandala due to a truck overturn. If you absolutely don't have to travel, don't," wrote X user pranav_72.
Pune-bound motorists also faced delays. "Started my journey from Andheri West around 7 pm via cab. Will be reaching Pune around 3.40 am. Worst traffic experience I ever had," X user Sohit Manik wrote.
(With Inputs from PTI)
