Nine dead, 11 critically injured as SUV crosses centre line and crashes into luxury bus on NH-8 in Navsari

Navsari (Gujarat) : A sports utility vehicle (SUV) jumped the divider and collided with a luxury bus travelling in the opposite direction early Saturday morning on National Highway (NH-8) at Vesma near the Naaz hotel in the Navsari district, killing at least nine people and injuring around eleven more seriously. Nine people were killed in the horrific crash, including eight occupants of the SUV and one on the luxury bus, according to the police.

Two of the eight people in the SUV were pronounced dead at the hospital, while the other six died on the spot. The majority of the victims were from the Saurashtra area. The eight victims were all workers at Pro Life Chemo Pharma, which had its headquarters in the Ankleshwar GIDC. Nitin Ghanshyam Patil, 30, of Kosmadi village in Bharuch, and his group were on their way to Ankleshwar from their early morning departure at 2.30 when their SUV was involved in a crash.

According to Hindustan Times, Navsari’s Superintendent of Police (SP) Rushikesh Upadhyay said, “Nine people were killed in the horrible accident between a Fortuner car and a luxury bus.” The bus was travelling from Surat to Valsad, while the car was making the reverse journey. The vehicle crossed the centre line and slammed into the luxury bus coming the other way.

Upadhyay continued, “The SUV was travelling back from Valsad to Ankleshwar at 3:30 in the morning. Perhaps the driver dozed off and lost consciousness at the wheel, causing his or her vehicle to jump the divider and crash into the expensive bus. There were about 16 people on the bus, all of whom were injured to varying degrees; most were taken to the New Civil Hospital in Navsari, while the most seriously hurt was transferred to Surat.

Upadhyay claims that every one of the luxury bus’s thirty passengers was on their way to Ahmedabad’s Pramukh Swami Maharaj Nagar, where the Pramukh Swami Maharaj Shatabdi Mahotsav was taking place. Everyone on the posh bus is from Kolak Village in Valsad.

According to the police, almost everyone on the luxury bus was treated for minor injuries at the Navsari Civil hospital. Eleven more victims with critical injuries were taken to a private hospital in Navsari.

List of those who died in the accident

1.Jaideep Kalubhai Godhani, 24, a resident of Nani Peidkhai in Junagadh’s Visavadar district.

2. Dharmesh Prakash Sheladiya, 24, resident of Gundalav Village in Rajkot
3. Jagdish RAsik Dudhat, 35, a resident of Vrajvilla Bungalow, Ankleshwar, Bharuch district.
4. Mayur Dhirubhai Vavaiya, 23, Zanzmer village in Junagadh district.
5. Navneet Mohan Bhadiadara, 30, a resident of Natwar Nagar in Nana Varachha Surat.
6. Prajnesh Ranchhod Vekaria, 23, a resident of Rabarika village in Rajkot

7 Ganesh Morar Tandel, 30 , a resident of Ramnagar, Kolak village in Valsad district.

8. Jaideep Kanti Pethani, 23, Bhadajalia village in Rajkot’s Dhoraji taluka
9. Nitin Ghanshyam Patil, 30, a resident of Kosmadi in Bharuch.