Traffic chaos on Mumbai-Pune Expressway after tanker overturns; passengers stuck for hours

Traffic was paralysed overnight connected the Mumbai-Pune Expressway aft a state tanker overturned successful the Khandala Ghat section, leaving hundreds of vehicles stranded and causing monolithic congestion connected some carriageways, officials said connected Wednesday (February 4, 2026).

Vehicles remained stationary adjacent the mishap tract for respective hours amid the postulation chaos stretching for implicit 12 hours, leaving passengers, including women and children, without food, water, and toilet facilities.

The road postulation constabulary person appealed to motorists to debar travelling connected the expressway arsenic acold arsenic imaginable until mean postulation question is restored.

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

According to the expressway power room, the state tanker overturned connected the road astatine astir 5 p.m. connected Tuesday (February 3, 2026).

The incidental occurred adjacent the Adoshi passageway successful Raigad territory erstwhile the tanker, allegedly travelling astatine precocious speed, mislaid power owed to the slope and overturned. Soon aft the accident, state was recovered leaking from the tanker, causing panic among motorists, an authoritative said.

The tanker was carrying propylene gas, which is highly flammable. As a precautionary measure, the constabulary instantly closed postulation towards Mumbai to forestall immoderate untoward incident.

The Mumbai-bound postulation was diverted onto the Pune-bound carriageway for astir a 2-km agelong owed to the accident.

However, mean question could not beryllium restored owed to a continuous state leak from the tanker, resulting successful agelong queues and crawling postulation adjacent for Pune-bound motorists, an authoritative astatine the expressway power country said.

The interaction was terrible connected motorists, with respective passengers stranded for hours.

"People person been stuck and desperately waiting for help. Please bash something," wrote X idiosyncratic VyasKarn.

A conductor of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) autobus told PTI astir midnight that their conveyance had been stationary for implicit six hours adjacent the mishap site, leaving passengers without food, h2o and toilet facilities.

Many motorists voiced their vexation connected societal media, with immoderate describing the expressway arsenic a "parking lot" and advising others to debar question unless necessary.

"Mumbai-Pune Expressway is simply a literal parking batch close now. Traffic crawling for hours adjacent Lonavala and Khandala owed to a motortruck overturn. If you perfectly don't person to travel, don't," wrote X idiosyncratic pranav_72.

The Pune-bound motorists were besides inconvenienced owed to the postulation snarls.

"Started my travel from Andheri West astir 7 p.m. via cab. Will beryllium reaching Pune astir 3.40 am. Worst postulation acquisition I ever had," different X user, Sohit Manik, wrote.

The Maharashtra Highway Traffic Police person advised motorists to debar the Mumbai–Pune Expressway until regular postulation question is restored.

The tanker overturned successful the Khandala Ghat conception connected the Mumbai-bound corridor adjacent the Adoshi tunnel, arsenic per a connection of the road postulation constabulary shared by a spokesperson of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC).

A highly flammable state leaked from the tanker aft the accident, and each agencies acrophobic were moving astatine the tract connected a warfare footing to incorporate the situation, it said.

The Mumbai-bound carriageway was closed successful the involvement of conveyance and commuter safety, starring to postulation congestion connected some the Mumbai and Pune-bound lanes of the expressway, the connection added.