Pune: 2 Mumbai Firm Employees Dead, 20 Injured as Minibus Plunges into Gorge in Pabe Ghat after Rajgad Trek
Reported by Mubarak Ansari
Velhe, 28th June 2026: A weekend trekking expedition to the historic Rajgad Fort ended in disaster when a tourist minibus carrying 22 employees of a Mumbai-based private firm crashed through a safety barrier and plunged 40 to 50 feet into a deep gorge in the treacherous Pabe Ghat section of Rajgad (Velhe) Taluka.
The horrific accident, which occurred in the early hours of Saturday, June 27, 2026, left two young professionals dead and 20 others, including the driver, injured.
The deceased have been identified as:
- Dhwani Chandresh Thakkar (23), a resident of Kandivali West, Mumbai. She was seated directly behind the driver at the time of the crash.
- Vishwas Baburao Satim (25), a resident of Nehru Nagar, Vile Parle, Mumbai.
Both victims died instantly at the scene after being pinned and trapped inside the heavily mangled wreckage.
The Fatal Plunge
According to police officials, the group of 22 colleagues, who worked for a private company based out of the SEEPZ Special Economic Zone in Andheri East, Mumbai, had traveled to Pune for a weekend getaway to Rajgad Fort.
The accident occurred at approximately 2:00 AM as the group was descending the winding Pabe Ghat pass following their trek. Negotiating the final sharp hairpin bend near Pabe village, the driver of the tourist minibus (Registration No. MH-47-AS-0934) lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle crashed violently through a roadside safety barrier, rolled over, and plunged down the steep 50-foot embankment.
High-Stakes Rescue Operation
The crash was first noticed by Rajgad Police Station officer Nilesh Rane, who immediately sounded the alarm, alerting the Velhe Police Station and the Haveli Disaster Management Rescue Team. A rescue contingent—including Velhe police officers Akash Patil, Pankaj Moghe, and Head Constable P. N. Modhe —rushed to the remote site, assisted by local villagers.
Emergency responders faced a highly precarious situation. The overturned minibus was resting unstable against a tree trunk, threatening to slide further down the gorge. Compounding the danger, diesel was rapidly leaking from the ruptured fuel tank onto the hot engine block, creating an extreme fire hazard because the vehicle’s ignition remained switched on and inaccessible.
The driver, Sandeep Tukaram Gaikwad (45), was pinned beneath the crushed cabin, his leg severely crushed and wedged between the driver’s seat and the crumpled dashboard.
To rescue the driver without triggering a slide or an explosion, rescuers secured the minibus with heavy-duty ropes attached to a JCB machine to stabilize its position. The machine gently tensioned the lines to lift the weight off the driver. A rescue team member then crawled into the mangled cabin, cut through Gaikwad’s seatbelt, tore apart the seat cushions, and manually excavated the compacted soil beneath him. This painstaking effort finally freed his trapped leg, allowing him to be pulled to safety.
Medical Treatment and Investigation
All 20 injured passengers and the driver were evacuated from the gorge and rushed to the Velhe Rural Hospital, where they received emergency medical treatment under the direction of Dr. Bhute. The bodies of Dhwani Thakkar and Vishwas Satim were transferred to the same facility for post-mortem examinations and legal formalities.
The Velhe Police have registered an official case following the incident. Investigators are currently examining the wreckage to determine if the crash was caused by sudden brake failure, driver error, or the poor visibility and challenging geometry of the ghat road.
