Industrialist takes helicopter after being stuck for eight hours on Mumbai-Pune Expressway

Pune-based industrialist Sudhir Mehta boarded a helicopter to return to the city after being stranded on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway for eight hours due to a massive traffic jam caused by an overturned gas tanker.

Following the tanker accident that occurred on the evening of Tuesday, February 3, 2026, passengers were stranded on the highway for more than 30 hours due to the leakage of highly flammable gas from the vehicle, which led to traffic movement being stopped for safety reasons.

Also Read | Mumbai-Pune Expressway traffic resumes after 33 hours; Overturned gas tanker removed

Sudhir Mehta, Chairman of Pinnacle Industries and EKA Mobility, said in his post on X that he returned to Pune by helicopter on Wednesday, February 4, after being stranded for eight hours.

He also posted aerial photos of heavy traffic jams on the highway.

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In response to prolonged traffic disruption, he said such incidents highlight the need for better emergency preparedness on high-speed corridors such as the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.

In his post on Wednesday, February 4, Mehta said, “For the last 18 hours, many people have been stranded on the #Mumbai #Pune highway for “a gas tanker”. For such emergencies, exit points should be planned at different parts of the highway that can be opened to allow vehicles to turn back.” he said.

Construction of helipads costs less than ₹ 10 lakh and requires less than an acre of land. The official suggested that these should be made mandatory at various points near the highway for emergency evacuations.

Traffic on the Mumbai-bound carriageway of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway returned to normal in the early hours of Thursday (Feb 5), 33 hours after the tanker overturned on the hilly Khandala Ghat section, officials said.

The tanker, carrying highly flammable propylene gas, was removed from the accident scene near Adoshi tunnel in the ghat section, allowing traffic to resume at 1.46 am, an official of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) said.

Mumbai-Pune Expressway is India’s first 6-lane concrete access-controlled toll highway. It covers a distance of 94.5 km connecting Mumbai, Raigad and Navi Mumbai to Pune.

The tanker overturned on the main highway leading to Mumbai around 5pm on Tuesday (February 3), triggering a massive traffic jam that left thousands of vehicles stranded on the busy highway for hours.

At the peak of congestion, stationary vehicle queues stretched up to 20 km. Passengers, including women and children, are trapped in their vehicles for hours without food, water or toilet facilities.