Mumbai, Jun 18 (PTI) Nineteen police personnel and 12 Bangladeshi nationals were injured in a pile-up of police vehicles, carrying a total of 160 illegal immigrants to Pune for deportation, inside a tunnel on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway in Raigad district on Wednesday morning, officials said.
These Bangladeshi nationals were arrested in the Mumbai metropolitan region for illegal stay and were being taken to the Pune airport in 19 vehicles for deportation in a special aircraft, they said.
One of the police personnel is in a serious condition, an official said.
"The incident occurred around 8 am inside the Bhatan tunnel on the Mumbai Pune Expressway near Rasayani in Raigad district. Nineteen vehicles, which were part of the convoy of Mumbai, Thane, Mira Bhayandar and Navi Mumbai police, were on the way to the Pune airport," he said.
"As many as 160 illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, who were apprehended earlier for illegal stay and lodged in various jails, were being taken to the Pune airport for deportation, as a special aircraft was arranged," he said.
The driver of one of the police vehicles suddenly applied brakes as a Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus was crossing the convoy when it reached the tunnel. This led to five other vehicles in the convoy to ram into each other one after the other, creating a pile-up, he said.
"As many as 19 policemen and 12 Bangladeshi nationals sustained injuries in the accident," the official said, adding that a personnel of the Protection Branch of the Mumbai police was in a critical condition.
Three of the injured personnel are officers of the Mumbai police, he said.
All the injured were rushed to the MGM Hospital at Kamothe in Navi Mumbai, where they are undergoing treatment, he said.
Except the injured Bangladeshi nationals, their compatriots are expected to be deported as per the previous plan, the official said.
The accident led to a heavy traffic jam on the expressway for some time. The road was cleared after the affected vehicles were towed away from the spot, he said.
The accident was reported at the Rasayani police station in Raigad, he said, adding that the further legal process in this connection was on.
After the incident, senior police officials visited the injured police personnel at the hospital, he said.