Industrialist takes helicopter after being stuck for 8 hours on Mumbai-Pune Expressway

Pune-based industrialist Sudhir Mehta took a chopper to instrumentality to the metropolis aft being stranded for 8 hours connected the Mumbai-Pune Expressway owed to a monolithic postulation jam caused by an overturned state tanker.

Commuters were stuck connected the expressway for implicit 30 hours aft the tanker mishap connected Tuesday (February 3, 2026) evening, arsenic it led to the suspension of postulation question for information reasons owed to leakage of the highly flammable state from the vehicle.

Sudhir Mehta, Chairman of Pinnacle Industries and EKA Mobility, successful a station connected X, said helium took a chopper to get backmost to Pune connected Wednesday (February 4) aft being stuck for 8 hours.

He besides posted immoderate aerial shots of the monolithic postulation jam connected the expressway.

Reacting to the prolonged postulation disruption, helium said specified incidents item the request for amended exigency preparedness connected high-speed corridors similar the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.

"Lacs of radical are stuck connected the #Mumbai #Pune expressway for the past 18 hours for "one state tanker". For specified emergencies, determination should beryllium planned exit points astatine antithetic locations connected the expressway which tin beryllium opened to let vehicles to return," Mr. Mehta said successful his station connected Wednesday (February 4).

Helipads outgo little than ₹10 lakh to physique and necessitate little than an acre of land. These should beryllium made mandatory astatine assorted points adjacent the expressway for exigency evacuation, helium suggested.

Traffic connected the Mumbai-bound carriageway of Mumbai-Pune Expressway was restored aboriginal connected Thursday (February 5), 33 hours aft the tanker overturned successful the hilly Khandala Ghat section, officials said.

The tanker, which carried the highly flammable propylene gas, was removed from the mishap tract adjacent the Adoshi passageway successful the ghat section, allowing the resumption of postulation astatine 1.46 a.m., an authoritative from the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) said.

The Mumbai-Pune Expressway is India's archetypal 6-lane concrete, access-controlled tolled expressway. It spans a region of 94.5 km connecting Mumbai, Raigad, and Navi Mumbai with Pune.

The tanker overturned connected the Mumbai-bound carriageway astir 5 p.m. connected Tuesday (February 3), triggering a monolithic postulation congestion that near thousands of vehicles stranded for hours connected the engaged expressway.

Lines of stationary vehicles stretched for arsenic acold arsenic 20 km astatine the highest of congestion. Passengers, including women and children, stay stranded successful their vehicles for respective hours without food, water, oregon toilet facilities.