Car falls into eight-foot sinkhole on OMR; Close shave for five persons
Police said that the car was driven by Mariadas (47) of Sholinganallur. The others were identified as Vignesh (42), his wife, Dhanya (32) and two children, Aswanth (12) and Advith (7).
Tamil Nadu Road Development Company (TNRDC) to fix OMR roads
CHENNAI: Five persons in a car, including a couple and their two children, had a close shave after the car fell into the eight feet deep sinkhole caused by a sudden cave-in on the arterial Rajiv Gandhi Salai (OMR), a few metres from Tidel park in Taramani on Saturday, The incident happened around 4 pm, and created a sense of panic among motorists and road users.
The car was halted at a traffic signal when the ground below the vehicle caved in. Fortunately for the occupants in the vehicle, they survived without any major injuries despite the vehicle turning half turtle into the sinkhole.
Hearing the screams of the occupants, passerby rushed to their aid and tried to retrieve them. However, it was not until the rescue personnel from Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services (TNFRS) reached the scene that the occupants were pulled out of the vehicle and moved to a hospital nearby for first aid.
Police said that the car was driven by Mariadas (47) of Sholinganallur. The others were identified as Vignesh (42), his wife, Dhanya (32) and two children, Aswanth (12) and Advith (7). Police said that Vignesh had hired Mariadas’s vehicle to drop them at the Central railway station.
Since the incident took place during peak-hour in the evening on OMR, it led to a traffic pile-up. Traffic personnel barricaded the sinkhole and regulated the traffic. Authorities said that repair works would be only possible at night when traffic movement would be lesser.
Preliminary investigations have revealed the leakage of a sewer line of the CMWSSB (Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board) led to the cave in. Authorities from the TNRDC (Tamil Nadu Road Development Company), which maintains the entire stretch of OMR, inspected the scene and have coordinated with concerned authorities for repair and restoration works.
Meanwhile, due to speculation rife on social media, Chennai Metro Rail Services (CMRL) officials have said that the sinkhole was not related to any of the Metro Rail work.
