Bus carrying music troupe falls into gorge, 13 killed

Mumbai: Thirteen persons, including three minors, were killed and 29 injured after a bus carrying young male and female members of a traditional 'Doltish-Zaanj' music troupe fell into a gorge on the old Mumbai-Pune highway in Raigad district of Maharashtra in the early hours of Saturday, police said. The private bus with 42 persons on board was going from Pune to Mumbai when it plunged into the 300-feet deep gorge in the Bor Ghat mountain pass section, better known as Kandala Ghat, between 4.15 and 4.30 am, said a senior police official.

The accident took place near Kho Poli, 70 km from Mumbai. The deceased included a 12-year-old boy. Among injured, at least six are minors. Most of the music troupe members were in their twenties or teens. The group, which played traditional instruments of Dohl, Tasha and Zaanj, was returning to Mumbai after taking part in an event in Pimpri Chinchwad township near Pune city.