A crane collapse on the Sion–Panvel route near Mankhurd on the night of April 28 triggered one of Mumbai's worst traffic nightmares in recent memory, leaving hundreds of commuters, including actress Sonali Kulkarni, stranded for hours on end. Kulkarni, known for her role in 'Dil Chahta Hai', documented the ordeal in a video that has since gone viral, as a police constable caught in the same gridlock lost his life on his way home from duty.
Sonali Kulkarni Gets Stranded in Traffic for Five Hours
Actress Sonali Kulkarni, who was traveling to Pune, was among the hundreds of commuters trapped on the Mankhurd Bridge. She shared a video on social media showing bumper-to-bumper traffic stretching into the night, with cars, buses, and heavy trucks completely immobilised in every direction. She said, 'It's been exactly five hours... five hours that we are stuck here. You can see the traffic behind me and ahead of me. We are completely stuck because we can't turn back either.'
The actress said she reached out to traffic control for an update but got little more than a request to wait it out, with no clarity on when the jam would clear. She said, 'They are saying to have patience; the jam is really bad, and they are not sure when the jam will get resolved.'
With no way to exit the highway and no access to basic amenities, the actress made a direct public appeal for police intervention. She said, 'If you can come from the other side and let us know... if you can help us or give us an update, please do. I know people must have gone through much more terrible scenarios than us, but this is scary. Five hours at just one position.'
More About the Incident
The chaos began when an excavator-mounted drilling crane collapsed onto the busy Sion–Panvel highway in the Mankhurd area late on April 28. The incident brought traffic to a complete standstill across Mankhurd, Chembur, and surrounding stretches, with congestion spilling well into the following day.
The tragedy extended beyond the hours-long wait. Police constable Santosh Gopal Chavan, 23 years on the force and attached to the Nehru Nagar police station, was critically injured after being caught in the jam while returning home to Panvel on his motorcycle following his night duty at the Eastern Region Control Room. He later succumbed to his injuries.
This incident highlights the severe infrastructure and traffic management challenges in Mumbai, where a single accident can paralyse the city for hours. Commuters are demanding better emergency response and clearer communication from authorities during such crises.
