MANGALURU: A truck driver was killed after a container slipped on the cabin of the truck he was driving at New Mangalore Port on Wednesday night.
The deceased identified as 45-year-old Vinod Poojary, a resident of Vamanjoor in the city, was employed by Delta Infra Logistics. At around 9.30 pm, he was shifting containers from the ship to the yard when the incident occurred.
While taking a turn inside NMPT (New Mangalore Port Trust) premises, the container jerked and slipped on the cabin. He was immediately rushed to NMPT Hospital but was declared brought dead.
Meanwhile, the workers have blamed negligence by logistic company and NMPT for the incident.
AICCTU district president Satish Kumar said the containers after placing on the trolley have to be locked to prevent slipping. But the logistic company refuses to do so as it takes time which means they have to pay more rent for NMPT. He also accused NMPT officials to be hand-in-glove with shipping and logistics companies in flouting the safety norms.
In the past, the workers have petitioned NMPT chairman and safety officials, seeking to ensure that all companies use locks mandatorily in the interest of the workers' safety. But there has been no action. In a similar incident which took place a few months ago, a driver seriously injured his back. Panamburu police have registered a case.