BHUBANESWAR: A truck caught fire on Palasuni overbridge, triggering a traffic gridlock for several hours on over 14 km stretch on National Highway-16 here on Wednesday.
The traffic jam that started in the afternoon continued into the evening, leaving commuters stranded for hours.
The truck was en route from Paradip to Gujarat and was transporting raw materials for soap manufacturing when it caught fire while entering the city. On receiving the information, three fire fighting vehicles rushed to the spot to douse the blaze.
However, the fire constricted the vehicular flow and traffic moved at a snail’s pace before coming to a complete halt as the fire spread onto the road as the truck’s diesel started leaking from the fuel tank and spilled on the overbridge.
A large plume of black smoke rose and was visible from across the area. The Commissionerate Police deployed a hydra crane but it was not able to lift the truck. Another crane was mobilised on the other side of the NH to ensure the truck did not fall from the bridge but that effort also went in vain.
This resulted in chock-a-block traffic on both sides of the roads for over four hours. An ambulance also failed to make way due to the massive traffic congestion. Police struggled to control the situation and diverted vehicles towards Pitapalli and to Balikuda from Cuttack side.
A traffic advisory on FM and news channels was issued requesting commuters to avoid traveling towards Palasuni. As the cranes failed to remove the charred truck from the road, the police engaged an earthmover to dismantle it.
Odisha Fire and Emergency Service personnel suspect the truck caught fire possibly due to short-circuit triggered by the prevailing hot weather. The truck driver and helper managed to escape unhurt.