Archive · 7 Aug 2026
One Killed, Four Injured in Mumbai-Pune Expressway Tunnel Accident
Early on Friday morning, a car crash happened on a big highway in India called the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.
A big car called a Toyota Fortuner hit a small truck called an Eicher tempo.
The crash happened inside a long tunnel on the highway.
Police think the car was going too fast, and the crash was so strong that both vehicles flipped over.
Sadly, one man named Tushar Bhumkar died in the accident.
Four other people in the car had small injuries, and the people in the truck only had a few bruises.
An ambulance took the injured people to a hospital.
The accident happened on a new part of the highway called the 'Missing Link', which was built to help cars skip a dangerous mountain road.
Traffic on the highway kept moving normally after the accident.
Some leaders are asking why a truck was allowed on this new stretch.
One person was killed and four others injured when a Toyota Fortuner rammed into an Eicher tempo inside a tunnel of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway early Friday.
The crash occurred around 1:20 am on the Mumbai-bound arm of the recently inaugurated 'Missing Link' stretch, with the impact overturning both vehicles.
Prima facie, the accident was caused by overspeeding by the Fortuner, a Highway Safety Patrol official said.
The deceased, Tushar Bhumkar, aged 30-35 and a resident of Wakad in Pune, died in the crash; four Fortuner occupants had minor injuries while the tempo occupants escaped with bruises.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Milind Narvekar questioned how a tempo was allowed on the Missing Link despite his demand that heavy vehicles be barred, calling for the driver and police to be booked.
- Who
- Tushar Bhumkar, 30-35, a resident of Wakad in Pune, was killed; four occupants of the Fortuner were injured and the tempo occupants suffered bruises.
- What
- A Toyota Fortuner crashed into an Eicher tempo inside a tunnel of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, overturning both vehicles.
- When
- Around 1:20 am on Friday (August 7).
- Where
- A tunnel on the Mumbai-bound arm of the recently inaugurated 'Missing Link' stretch of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.
- Why
- Prima facie, the crash was caused by overspeeding by the Fortuner.
Official account
Political criticism
Cause of the accident
Official account
Prima facie, the crash was caused by overspeeding by the Toyota Fortuner, which slammed into the tempo.
Political criticism
Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Milind Narvekar argued that the crash could not be separated from the fact that a heavy vehicle was on the Missing Link at all, since he says such vehicles were meant to be barred.
Responsibility and remedies
Official account
The official account attributes the collision to driver behaviour and reported that traffic on the expressway remained normal after the crash.
Political criticism
Narvekar demanded that the tempo driver and the police officials who permitted it be booked for culpable homicide, and that height barriers be installed on the Missing Link.
- Fatalities
- 1
- Injured
- 4 (minor injuries)
- Deceased
- Tushar Bhumkar, resident of Wakad in Pune, aged 30-35
- Vehicles Involved
- Toyota Fortuner and Eicher tempo
- Probable Cause
- Overspeeding (prima facie)
- Location
- Tunnel on Mumbai-bound arm of the 'Missing Link', Mumbai-Pune Expressway
- Time of Accident
- Around 1:20 am, Friday (August 7)
- Missing Link Details
- 13.3-km stretch with a nearly 9-km tunnel and a cable-stayed bridge; inaugurated May 1
