Oil tanker overturns on Sohna Road, leads to two-hour snarl

The oil tanker was then removed with the help of a crane and was impounded and parked in the Sohna police station.

An oil tanker, containing 30,000 litres of burner oil, turned turtle after losing its balance to avoid hitting a private school bus on Sohna Road on Friday morning. The accident threw traffic out of gear for two hours on the stretch. No injury was reported, said the police. However, the accident caused a leak, with the tanker spilling all its oil on the open street.

The incident took place around 7.30am near Tikona Park on Tauru-Sohna Road, around 25 kilometres from Gurugram. A private school bus moving towards Sohna city applied sudden brakes, following which the oil tanker lost its balance and overturned. (HT FILE)

The police said the driver saved lives by showing the presence of mind and not ramming into the school bus ferrying school students, thereby averting a big mishap.

The police had to cordon off the road for a kilometre and divert the traffic towards the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway.

The incident took place around 7.30am near Tikona Park on Tauru-Sohna Road, around 25 kilometres from Gurugram. A private school bus moving towards Sohna city applied sudden brakes, following which the oil tanker lost its balance and overturned. The oil spilt on the road and spread across a kilometre-long stretch, said the police.

Arvind Dahiya, station house officer (SHO) of Sohna city police station, said that there was a slope on the stretch and the tanker driver, who was trying to avoid hitting the bus, lost control of the vehicle. He was immediately taken out. Almost 30,000 litres of oil spilt on the road. It could have led to a major fire. “The burning oil could lead to a fire as the road was slippery and vehicles could have been easily slid. We received a call from a passerby and within a few minutes, we sent two teams to the spot and informed the fire station. We cordoned off the area and diverted the traffic towards the KMP Expressway, as the road was slippery and there were chances of accidents,” he said.

The oil tanker was removed with the help of a crane and was impounded and parked in the Sohna police station. “The truck was heading towards Gurugram from the Tauru industrial area after loading burner oil used in machines. The school bus driver was speeding, as per the statements of the witnesses. The oil tanker driver was behind the bus when it applied sudden brakes. Later, the driver fled from the spot,” said Dahiya.

The police said they have not registered any case but had to cordon off the area. It was only after the fire tenders had cleared the oil that the stretch was opened to the public. There was two-hour-long traffic congestion.