Overview
- The SUV carrying eight people went off a sharp turn in the Ambenali Ghat on the Poladpur–Mahabaleshwar road during the early hours of Sunday while returning from the Konkan coast.
- Police and relatives traced the vehicle using mobile‑tower data and located it in the gorge the next morning, and all eight bodies were recovered and formally identified after about a 20‑ to 25‑hour operation on Monday.
- Rescue teams from the district, local volunteer trekkers and the National Disaster Response Force worked under extreme conditions that included steep slopes, dense vegetation, deep ravines, darkness and bee hives that slowed retrieval.
- Raigad police registered a Fatal Motor Accident case and said the driver likely lost control on a sharp ghat turn while investigators continue to examine speed, fatigue and other factors.
- A separate multi‑vehicle crash at Laling Ghat in Dhule on the same day killed six and wounded about 26, prompting hospital treatment for the injured and renewed official focus on road safety and emergency response on ghat and highway stretches.