Pune: 32-Hour Hazmat Rescue on Mumbai–Pune Expressway Averted Major Disaster

What began as a routine downhill drive through the Khandala ghat section on Tuesday evening turned into one of the most technically demanding hazardous-material rescue operations ever carried out on the Mumbai–Pune Expressway — a tense 32-hour effort marked by precision, improvisation and extreme caution, where a single spark could have triggered widespread devastation.

At around 5 pm on February 3, as evening peak-hour traffic intensified along the ghat stretch near the Adoshi tunnel — a section notorious for sharp curves and steep gradients — emergency services were alerted to a potentially dangerous situation involving a vehicle carrying hazardous material.

Within minutes, traffic slowed to a crawl, and authorities began diverting vehicles as safety teams assessed the risk. Given the volatile nature of the cargo and the terrain’s narrow margins for error, officials moved cautiously, aware that even a minor misstep could have triggered a chain reaction affecting kilometres of the expressway.

Over the next 32 hours, police, fire services, disaster response teams and highway authorities coordinated around the clock to stabilise the situation, remove the threat and restore normal traffic. Specialized equipment, protective gear and carefully planned procedures were deployed to prevent leaks, explosions or environmental damage.

Officials later described the operation as one of the most complex emergency responses ever undertaken on the busy corridor, highlighting the discipline and coordination displayed by rescue teams under intense pressure.