NAVI MUMBAI: A sunrise trip to Khandala ended in tragedy for a group of IIT Bombay students when an SUV carrying three of them overturned on the Mumbai–Pune Expressway near the Panvel exit on Thursday morning. The victims — Shreyansh Sharma (22) from Jaipur, Omkumar Borse (23) from Nashik and Lay (20) from Nagpur — were part of a group of six students who had left the Powai campus around 5am in three SUVs to watch the sunrise. The accident occurred on their return journey, shortly after crossing the Bhatan tunnel. According to police, the SUV lost control while attempting to overtake a truck near the 10.7 km mark before the Panvel exit. The vehicle reportedly somersaulted multiple times, leaving it mangled and trapping the occupants inside. All three students in the vehicle sustained fatal injuries. However, batchmates travelling in the other two vehicles told investigators that the SUV may have brushed against the truck while changing lanes, causing the driver to lose control. Police are examining both versions. “We are investigating the exact cause of the accident and will register an FIR based on findings,” said a senior officer from Panvel taluka police station. Highway police indicated that overspeeding could have been a factor. “Prima facie, it appears the vehicle was at high speed when it lost control and overturned,” an officer said. Rescue teams were rushed to the spot after an alert was received on the emergency helpline. The bodies were later taken to a hospital in Panvel for postmortem. Two faculty members from IIT Bombay also reached the hospital.
