CHENNAI: Three members of a family were killed and two others injured as the car they were travelling in plunged from an unfinished bridge on the Chennai outer ring road near Red Hills on Thursday night.
Unaware that the bridge was only half-constructed, the car carrying the family, which was returning from a function, climbed the bridge instead of taking the service lane, when two other cars carrying the rest of the family followed them.
“However, passengers on the the second car found through Google Maps that the bridge was only half-complete and were about to alert the car ahead when it fell from a height of about 30 feet into a ditch filled with rainwater,” said M C Siva, a relative of the deceased.
The deceased, identified as Palani (65), his wife Naveedham (55) and their daughter Pavithra (26) were travelling along with Pavithra’s husband Ayyappan and driver Kandavel. The family members were returning in three cars after an engagement at Minjur.
“They were heading towards Manimangalam, when the driver took the bridge instead of the service lane. There were no barricades; so, they did not know it was an unfinished bridge. Eight people travelling in two other trailing cars found the bridge unfinished and were about to alert the lead car’s occupants. By that time, the car plunged from the bridge. There was a huge pit dug as part of the construction work, which was filled with rainwater,” said Siva.
“The driver managed to escape through the front door, while Ayyappan, on the backseat, broke open the glass window and came out. He tried to save the rest of the family members. However, they died,” he added.
90% of work completed, says tnrdc
About 90 per cent of the work on the outer ring road project has been completed. The interchange work (bridge work) at Red Hills near the toll plaza and some other places has been delayed due to fund shortage and is expected to be completed soon, according to the Tamil Nadu Road Development Company Limited.