Five people travelling to Pune to attend a marriage were killed in an accident on the Mumbai- Pune expressway early this morning, police said.
A group of six people, all residents of Mankhurd in suburban Mumbai, was on way to Pune in a van for a marriage function. The van broke down and five of its occupants were pushing it to a nearby repair shop when a speeding tempo rammed into them from behind, said police inspector Yogesh More.
Three of them died on the spot, while two succumbed to their wounds at a hospital. The sixth one sustained critical injuries in the mishap which took place near Panvel, he said.
The deceased were identified as Santosh Prajapati (40), Ayodhya Yadav (26), Rashid Khan (24) Juman Shaikh (45) and Dinesh Jaiswal (30), the official said.
The tempo driver, who is yet to be identified, fled the spot after the accident. He has been booked under IPC sections 304A (causing death by negligence) and 279 (rash driving), he said.
