At least six people were killed and five injured in a grisly collision between two cars on the Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway, or Samruddhi Mahamarg, last night near the Kadwanchi village on Samruddhi Highway in Jalna district, nearly 400 km from Mumbai.

The accident happened around 11 pm when a Swift Dzire entered the highway from the wrong side after refuelling and rammed an Ertiga going to Mumbai from Nagpur.

So severe was the impact that the Ertiga was flung into the air and landed on the barricade lining the highway while passengers were sent flying out of the vehicle and onto the road. The other car was a mangled heap of metal.

Six died on the spot and visuals showed their bloodied bodies lying on the highway.

The Samruddhi Highway Police and Jalna Police rushed to the spot as soon as they were informed of the accident. A crane was pressed into service to remove the cars. The injured have been referred to the district hospital for treatment.

The Samruddhi Mahamarg is a partially functional six-lane and 701-km-long access-controlled expressway in Maharashtra. It is one of the country’s longest greenfield road projects connecting Mumbai and the state’s third-largest city Nagpur.

The recent monsoon in Delhi brought unprecedented rainfall, leading to traffic disruptions, tragic incidents, and flight delays. Despite challenges, the city’s air quality remained satisfactory, with predictions of continued heavy rain prompting an orange alert. The event highlighted the impact of extreme weather on daily life in the capital.

A total of 8,756 deaths were reported in India due to collapse of structures in the five years between 2018 and 2022, including 5,988 deaths due to the collapse of ‘dwelling houses’ or residential buildings, according to NCRB’s ‘Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India’ data