Five cars and private bus collide on Magathane bridge in Borivali East

A multi-vehicle chain-reaction collision involving five cars and a private bus disrupted traffic on the southbound carriageway of the Magathane bridge on the Western Express Highway (WEH) in Borivali East on Thursday afternoon. The pile-up, which occurred at around 4:00 PM, was triggered by a rain-slicked, slippery road and sudden braking. No injuries or casualties were reported from the incident, though vehicular movement was halted for nearly 20 minutes.

According to the Kasturba police, the accident began when two bikers lost control of their motorcycles on the wet road surface. Senior Police Inspector Balasaheb Bankar of the Kasturba Police Station stated that the two riders fell onto the road after losing control due to the slippery conditions caused by the rain.

In an effort to avoid running over the fallen motorcyclists, the driver of a car travelling directly behind them applied sudden brakes. This abrupt stop initiated a chain-reaction collision, as the five cars and the private bus following behind were unable to stop in time on the slick highway and crashed into one another.

All of the vehicles involved in the pile-up sustained minor damage. One of the car drivers involved in the collision recounted the suddenness of the crash, stating that the vehicle in front of them suddenly applied brakes, leaving them unable to understand what had happened for a few seconds.

The Dahisar Traffic Police quickly arrived at the scene to clear the blockage on the busy flyover. Officers moved the damaged vehicles from the main bridge lanes over to the roadside to ease the congestion. To clear the path completely, the traffic police had to use a crane to shift one of the vehicles that had become locked.

Through the joint efforts of the local police and traffic personnel, normal vehicular movement on the southbound carriageway of the Western Express Highway was restored within 15 to 20 minutes of the accident.