CHENNAI: A large sinkhole, spanning around 10 feet in length, that developed all of a sudden on the road connecting Thiruvanmiyur and Taramani on Friday swallowed a car that was passing along the stretch on Saturday.
The driver and four others who were inside the damaged car were rescued immediately by passersby and the traffic police. The police said the driver, Mariadas (47) of Sholinganallur, suffered minor injuries and was given first aid. The other passengers in the car have been identified as Vignesh (42), his wife Dhanya (32) and two children - Aswanth (12) and Advith (7). The police said Vignesh had hired Mariadas’ vehicle to drop the family at Chennai railway station.
The incident occurred roughly 300 metres from a Metro construction site. However, Chennai Metro Rail, in a statement, distanced itself from the road collapse, stating the sinkhole was unrelated to its operations. The agency pointed to a suspected leak in a 2.2-metre-diametre sewer line running beneath the area as the likely cause. In coordination with its contractors, Chennai Metro Rail said, it had mobilised machinery to assist in retrieving the vehicle, despite the incident falling outside its scope of responsibility.
However, the metro water officials told TNIE that though it was true that the sewer line is passing along the stretch, no leak was found in the preliminary investigations. “The entire patch has been found to be dry. We will be able to ascertain the exact reason only after excavation is complete. But until then all departments are carrying out a joint effort,” said a metro water official.
Following the accident, the stretch was barricaded off on Saturday evening, causing traffic congestion in the area.
Elumalai, the owner of the car, who was not at the spot at the time of the accident told reporters later, “As of now, only my car is damaged. I will manage somehow. Who will take the responsibility if someone inside the car had got hurt?”