India, July 26 -- A massive pile-up on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway reportedly brought traffic to a standstill near Datta Food Mall, shortly after the descent from the Lonavala-Khandala ghat section, on Saturday afternoon. Local reports suggested that a container truck, allegedly speeding, suffered brake failure and crashed into a vehicle, triggering a chain-reaction collision involving 18 to 20 vehicles.

The accident took place on one of India's busiest expressways, which sees a daily volume of 1.5 to 2 lakh vehicles - numbers that surge further on weekends.

The pile-up also caused traffic to back up for nearly five kilometres, leaving scores of vehicles stranded, Pune Pulse reported.

The impact was severe - at least three vehicles were...