High-Rise Blaze Near Navale Bridge in Pune Brings Severe Traffic Chaos, Besieged by Rescue Efforts
A major fire breaks out near Navale Bridge on the Pune-Bengaluru highway after a multi-vehicle collision; fire brigade brings blaze under control amid mounting casualties.
Pune | November17 ,2025: A catastrophic fire erupted on the busy Pune-Bengaluru highway stretch near Navale Bridge around 5:30 pm on Thursday, following a violent collision involving two heavy trucks and a car, leaving several persons dead and many injured. The blaze, which quickly engulfed the vehicles, triggered an urgent rescue and firefighting operation by municipal fire teams and highway police. Despite the swift response, the scale of the incident has thrown light on the dangerous gradient and traffic mix on this accident-prone corridor.
Eyewitnesses report that a heavy container truck descending from the Katraj-Dehu Road bypass lost control and rammed into a smaller vehicle ahead, which in turn became trapped between the colliding trucks. The car and both trucks caught fire almost instantly, generating a towering flame and thick black smoke that halted traffic for over two hours. Fire squads from the nearest stations arrived within minutes, battling the inferno and using foam as fuel from the vehicles threatened to spread the blaze further. The dramatic rescue scene included attempts to free trapped occupants, extinguish flames and treat the injured, but authorities later confirmed multiple fatalities and a high number of casualties.
Preliminary investigation suggests the stretch’s steep downhill gradient played a major role in this tragedy. Long flagged as a “black spot”, the gradient and limited escape lanes mean that once a heavy vehicle loses control, the consequences become catastrophic. Traffic officials note that heavy trucks using neutral gear to save fuel on the descent often face brake failure conditions. The impact in this case was so severe that smaller vehicles following the trucks had virtually no margin for safe escape. Initial estimates suggest a car, two trucks and multiple other vehicles collided in rapid succession.
Fire-brigade sources say it took approximately 30 minutes to first bring the fire under control and clear the immediate hotspot; still, the rescue and clearance operations extended late into the evening. More than a dozen people were rushed to hospital with burn injuries and trauma, while forensic teams arrived to assist in identifying the deceased, some of whom were badly charred. Traffic on the highway was diverted via alternate routes, though congestion and delays extended for several kilometres as investigators and cleanup crews worked through the night.
This incident again underscores the urgent need for structural and enforcement measures on this stretch of the highway. Despite previously identified risks and remedial proposals—such as additional signage, rumble strips, speed-arrestors and better truck braking zones—the frequency and severity of accidents remain troubling. Road-safety analysts argue that only comprehensive engineering solutions, including reducing the gradient, dedicated heavy-vehicle lanes, and stricter speed-monitoring can prevent future tragedies.
In response, the police have registered relevant cases of reckless driving, pending a deeper forensic review of vehicle logs, brake-system status and driver actions. Heavy-vehicle operators are being cautioned that complacency on descending slopes will not be tolerated. Meanwhile, local commuters and township residents have expressed growing concern over how mixed traffic—buses, heavy goods vehicles, personal cars and two-wheelers—share this hazardous stretch without adequate segregation or real-time monitoring.
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