KANNUR: With a bit of luck and timely intervention of the police, fire force and local people, a possible tragedy was averted as a tanker lorry carrying a full load of LPG overturned at Chala bypass here at 2pm on Thursday. The incident, which evoked memories of a similar tragedy in 2012, which had claimed 22 lives, left the people living in the area in fear and police had to evacuate them as part of precaution. The situation was brought under control by late evening.
The tanker lorry carrying LPG coming from Mangaluru overturned while trying to negotiate a curve at Chala. The gas leaked from the tanker which made the people in the region scared. The injured driver was taken to a private hospital at Chala by the police.
The fire force team, which reached the spot from Kannur, pumped water to mitigate the impact of the gas leakage. The police team led by City Commissioner R Ilango reached the spot and took control of the situation. “As of now, the danger has been averted,” said Ilango.
The authorities concerned should take serious steps to avoid accidents in this area, said Mayor T O Mohanan who reached the spot. “Only the driver was there in the tanker lorry when the accident occurred. As per the rule, there should be two persons in a tanker lorry during a long trip,” said Mohanan.
The fire force team cordoned off the area and plugged the gas leak with the support of local people using sand. Teams of volunteers stepped in to evacuate the people living in houses nearby. The police asked the people in the region to switch off their mobile phones to avoid a possible danger.