CHENNAI: A portion of Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) near Tidel Park caved in on Thursday morning, leaving a car trapped in a sinkhole. The two occupants of the car escaped unhurt, according to police sources.
Officials from the Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board and Chennai Metro Rail Limited were at the spot to inspect the site.
The portion of the road near the median gave way as the white compact SUV was passing, trapping one of its front tyres in the sinkhole. The vehicle then overturned and landed inside the crater.
Eyewitnesses said the two occupants got out of the car as soon as they saw the road cave in.
Metro rail work is already under way on the stretch. With the sinkhole barricaded, the carriageway has narrowed, resulting in pile-ups on the busy stretch. Two-wheelers were being let through while other vehicles were being diverted.
Teams at the spot were engaged in filling the cavity with a cement mixture to stabilise the road, as part of the repair work.
In May last year, a car carrying a family of four and a driver fell into an eight-foot-deep sinkhole near Tidel Park after a portion of the same stretch caved in. The occupants were rescued safely.