Silvester D'Souza

Daijiworld Media Network - Kundapur (SP)

Kundapur, Sep 5: A tanker loaded with palm oil fell into a roadside gorge at Hunsekatte near Basrur hand post in the town at around midnight on Monday September 4. In this incident, the oil went down the drain, and driver of the tanker, who suffered injuries, was hospitalized.

The tanker was carrying palm oil from Mangaluru to Haveri. When the vehicle was passing from near Hunsekatte, a vehicle in front of the tanker suddenly slowed down after seeing that an auto rickshaw driver ahead was pushing his vehicle that had developed snags. The tanker driver tried to avoid hitting the vehicle in front at the last minute and chose to overtake it. Finding that another vehicle was approaching the spot from close quarters, he applied brakes all of a sudden. The tanker then went out of his control, hit the railings of the bridge, and jumped into the gorge.

The injured tanker driver has been identified as Raju (40) from Chitradurga. After getting treated in a private hospital in the town, the driver left for his hometown.

The locals, who saw oil was pouring out of the fallen tanker, came armed with various containers and cans and collected oil as much as possible. Some were heard saying that the oil collected now is enough to celebrate Navaratri and Deepavali festivals.

A case about this accident was filed in the traffic police station here.