[mpksuhas]

I guess we should wait till the car / any other body is recovered till we arrive at any conclusion. Though the circumstances point towards an accident, it can be a case of highway dacoity too.

There was a news report of similar incident few months back on NH 7 between Bangalore - Hyderabad. Though in that case only one person was in the car. The case was cracked after police caught the car thief for some other crime, it was later found out that he and his accomplice had killed the driver when he was sleeping near a highway eatery and taken the car.

[Ritzvxi]

RIP the soul of Chintan.

The lesson to be learnt is:

You get the top end car with all the safety features (we all know i20 Asta is most loaded hatchback in the country), use seat belts (as seen in the toll booth picture posted). But you still have to drive sensibly and respect the limitations of the machine.

Did the much discussed, light steering of Hyundai (high speed dynamics) of i20 played some role in the mishap (only if the story of the vehicle going off the bridge is indeed true).

Sincerely hope that the rest of the people are alive.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by Ritzvxi

Did the much discussed, light steering of Hyundai (high speed dynamics) of i20 played some role in the mishap (only if the story of the vehicle going off the bridge is indeed true).

Sincerely hope that the rest of the people are alive.

Lets understand what happened before concluding on causes

[vb-saan]

Update from NDTV – the car found in the river bed :(

http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/c...-lateststories

[Gotham_City]

NDTV reports that the missing car had been found in Nira River bed.

http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/c...-lateststories

The car that four young advertising professionals were traveling in when they disappeared has been found at the bottom of river just outside Pune.

The silver Hyundai i20 was found by divers from the National Disaster Response Force this morning in the Neera river, 40 kms from Pune on the highway to Bangalore.

The body of one of the four missing persons -28-year-old Chintan Buch -was found in the river yesterday

[the_skyliner]

Very very sad news indeed.

Really sadden by imagining what would have happened and the pain of family of Chintan Buch and others. One of the fours persons is a friend's friend and we share quite a few mutual friends on FB.

One has to be extra alert while driving at night as our roads are not at all safe. Have traveled through that road n number of times and each time felt the danger of curve before the bridge and also the bridge itself has a very rough tarmac. If you drive too fast on the bridge then also there are chances of loosing control over the vehicle.

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

I guess we should wait till the car / any other body is recovered till we arrive at any conclusion. Though the circumstances point towards an accident, it can be a case of highway dacoity too.

Stopping a car on that national highway for dacoity is very difficult due to heavy traffic and high speed of vehicles. Never heard of such an incident on that road.

[asit.kulkarni93]

Just now saw on ABP majha (the Marathi star news channel) about the car and the other people being found in the nira river bed. The reporter said the car was in a real bad condition. It seems the guy whose body was found first Somehow managed to get out of the car after it fell in the river, but was unable to survive. Very sad to know about this. With time roads have become better but as mom always says it is risky to drive at night and always was.
RIP :(

[Hurrycane12]

Heartbreaking for the families, May god give them strength during this hour of grief.

A close friend and Pranav worked together till a year ago and he is devastated by this news.

RIP

[Swanand Inamdar]

Though the cause of the accident is not yet known, the speculation is, the driver must've dozed off. Given that this was sometime in the dead of the night, and chances of people dozing off are likely, it could as well be that.
Highway robbery doesn't seem possible, as that's a pretty busy stretch, and a part of the NH4.

A very sad news, and a devastating one for the families.
May the departed's soul rest in peace.

[green_wheel]

Can't even imagine what must be going through the minds of the families of the victims. What was supposed to be a joyous festival season of light has ended in darkness.

Driving at night even on the best of roads world-wide is risky due to the following factors.
1. Poor light - which means that we have even less time to react to obstacles / hazards / pot-holes etc.
2. Animals and even people that may amble across the road in the dead of night.
3. Glare from the headlights of other vehicles coming from the opposite side.

In India, besides the above factors we have more hazardous conditions.
4. Undividered highways - with buses coming on the wrong side, driven at speeds as if they are being chased by the hounds of hell.
5. Many highways pass through villages instead of having proper exits, which means that there are crossings with chance of pedestrians, animals, autos, tractors etc.
6. Stalled vehicles that do not put any warnings or even have proper reflectors.
7. Trucks that get into 5 kmph races and end up blocking all lanes.

I have just listed the factors that I have encountered the most during the odd night-time trip. Now, with accidents galore on highways at night, I have imposed a strict curfew on all my family members from taking highways at night. Let alone self-driving, I no longer even take the bus as they are not immune, as recent accidents have shown. Better to plan trips in advance and take a train or drive during the day and rest at the nearest town-inn during the night.

Road accidents in India have reached epidemic proportions and yet we see not a finger being raised by the governments to bring these numbers down. In any other country, heads would have rolled over the condition of the bridge in this particular incident - but "yahaan sab kuch chalta hai" .

[AyAn!]

Originally Posted by Warwithwheels

Here's a pic of the wheel cap from the NDTV report:

What a misleading bit of news! That's a OEM Esteem wheel-cap I believe.

[malgudi]

Car with three missing ad executives found in river - Link to news on NDTV - very Sad indeed. May the departed souls RIP
http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/c...url=1383815897

[tanwaramit]

May their souls RIP. Very unfortunate accident.

Since this is a busy highway, didn't anyone driving around them see the car going in the river? They should have atleast informed the police or the next toll gate.

Hope some vehicle didn't bang their car from behind pushing the car into river.

[KALINGA]

Originally Posted by tanwaramit

Hope some vehicle didn't bang their car from behind pushing the car into river.

Yes that might be a reason

May their souls RIP...A very unfortunate end of a holiday ride.

Night driving is not always safe.

[finneyp]

Sad & tragic incident, big loss for the family! May the Almighty grant them strength.

Another hard reminder that Night driving is not safe in our country!