Noida: Heavy iron ring falls off truck, halts road traffic

Traffic in Noida's Sector 62 came to a standstill after a 70-tonne iron ring fell off a truck and struck a metro pillar. Initial attempts to move the ring failed and traffic had to be diverted. The ring was eventually removed using cranes. A case has been registered against the truck driver and the person who ordered the ring.

Traffic on Noida’s bustling Sector 62 main road, a crucial link between Delhi, Ghaziabad, and Noida via NH-24, came to a standstill on Friday after an iron ring, weighing around 70 tonnes fell off an 18-wheeler truck, after it struck a metro pillar near the Sector 59 Metro station around 3am Friday.

Three cranes, including a 100 tonne hydraulic crane were damaged while lifting the ring. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

Initially, in a bid to move the ring from the road, two cranes and one 100 tonne hydraulic crane were used by the police.

Ram Singh, traffic inspector, Circle 2, said, “The traffic police brought in two cranes to lift the ring, but when that plan did not work, a 100 tonne hydraulic crane was summoned. But around 2pm, the crane started malfunctioning and failed to lift the ring.”

“The truck driver initially informed us that the weight of the ring was around 45 tonnes, but when a 100 tonne hydraulic crane failed to lift it, he then revealed that it weighed around 70 tonnes,” the officer added.

While speaking to HT, the truck driver, Raju, said he loaded the ring from Ghaziabad and was en route to deliver it to a cement plant in Odisha.

“As I approached the underpass of Sector 59 Metro station, a car suddenly appeared from the wrong side. To avoid a collision, I swerved, causing the ring to collide with the metro pillar and the chains securing the ring snapped,” the driver said.

He said the car driver escaped towards the underpass, and around 6am, police reached the spot.

However, a spokesperson from the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said, “The metro is running as before, and we are checking the damage to the pillar.

The traffic from six lanes -- four of the elevated road and two lanes of the underpass -- merges into three lanes of Sector 59 road, which causes heavy congestion during peak hours.

Initially, traffic was moving through a one-lane underpass, but around 11am, the traffic police diverted the route and completely blocked the underpass near Sector 59 metro station.

Amit Gupta, who was returning home from work, said, “I was stuck in traffic for around 40 minutes. The traffic police should work on issuing an advisory or diversion plan to inform the people about such situations. I came to know about the incident only after I got stuck in traffic.”

Anil Kumar Yadav, DCP, traffic, said, “Three cranes were damaged while lifting the ring. Later, it came to our notice that the moving crane could not lift the ring as it was loaded on the truck by a fixed crane.”

However, around 6pm, the iron ring was removed with the help of another 200 tonne crane and three 100 tonne hydraulic cranes.

Traffic inspector Singh, said, “The ring was removed in the evening and the road was cleared.”

A case has been registered against the truck driver and Ram Lal, a resident of Alwar, who reportedly ordered the iron ring.

“The crane driver was asking ₹ 1.5 lakh for removing the ring which will be paid by the owner,” Singh said.