One dead as Goa-Mumbai bus plunges into ravine

Ratnagiri (Maharashtra), June 12 (IANS) One person was killed and 35 injured when a private tourist bus on its way from Goa to Mumbai plunged into a 200-feet-deep ravine early Tuesday, police said.

According to Lanjha police station chief Ramchandra Gavde in Ratnagiri district, the accident occurred around 2 a.m. on the Goa-Mumbai highway.

'Preliminary investigations indicate that the bus may have skidded on the wet roads due to the rains lashing the area in the past two days,' Gavde told IANS.

While one person was killed, 35 have been injured. The condition of four is stated to be serious and they are undergoing treatment at various hospitals in Lanjha and Ratnagiri, he added.

The Thane-registered bus belonged to Kal-Bhairav Travels and the owner has been summoned to Ratnagiri for investigations.

Large parts of the coastal Konkan region of the state have been experiencing very heavy rains since the past couple of days, especially Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri and Raigad, hitting traffic on the busy highway connecting the Maharashtra capital to the coastal state.