TANKER LORRIES COLLIDE- MAJOR DISASTER AVERTED

TANKER LORRIES COLLIDE-

MAJOR DISASTER AVERTED

A major disaster was averted when a tanker carrying about 12,000 litres of diesel went out of control and fell on its side after it collided with another tanker carrying acid at the busy Kundanoor Junction at 7. 15 a.m. on Saturday. About 5,000 litres of diesel leaked on the road through three lids of the tanker under the impact of the fall, posing a grave danger of a fire. Fortunately, the acid tanker withstood the collision. The diesel tanker was on its way after filling fuel from the refinery while the acid tanker was proceeding towards Edappally, traffic police said. Drivers of both the tankers, Manoharan and Vidyasagar, were taken to a nearby private hospital with head injuries. Later, they were discharged.

Fire and rescue personnel from Gandhi Nagar, Tripunithura, and Club Road fire stations who rushed to the spot, sealed the area and regulated the traffic along with the police. According to fire force personnel, the tanker carrying the acid collided with the diesel tanker to its left. The police said that one of the tankers might have jumped the traffic signal resulting in the accident. Even as the fuel tanker was being lifted using hydraulic equipment, fire force personnel sprayed it with foam to stave off the possibility of a spark leading to a fire. The diesel from the tanker was also safely transferred to another tanker that arrived at the spot from the Cochin Port Trust, fire force sources said.

Fire service personnel had to use water from more than six fire tenders to wash off the diesel from the road to prevent further accidents. Later sand was spread on the road . Traffic through the area remained disrupted for close to three hours after the incident. It had a cascading effect on traffic in the nearby areas including Tripunithura, Maradu, and Pettah. Normal traffic was restored by 10 a.m, traffic police said. 

                                                                        Prof. John Kurakar