Pothole caused gas tanker to topple on Mumbai’s Sion-Panvel highway, led to 3-hour-long snarl

Heavy traffic snarls were reported along the Mumbai-Vashi highway for three-hours on Wednesday morning after a gas tanker collapsed sideways, purportedly in an attempt

Heavy traffic snarls were reported along the Mumbai-Vashi highway for three-hours on Wednesday morning after a gas tanker collapsed sideways, purportedly in an attempt to avoid a pothole.

The mishap took place on Tuesday night and its effect could be felt on Wednesday morning during the rush hour.

“It looked like the tanker driver was trying to avoid a pothole, a senior officer in the Mumbai traffic police said.

The capsule tanker transporting gas was headed on the southbound road on Tuesday night around 11.30pm. It crossed Vashi and had just reached Mankhurd when the driver spotted the pothole ahead of him, said the police.

“To avoid it, he moved to the second lane on the Mankhurd bridge. However, the moment it changed lanes, the driver saw another vehicle rushing towards it from the opposite direction. He swerved to avoid a collision, but lost control over his own vehicle,” said a senior officer from Mumbai traffic police.

While traffic and fire brigade authorities rushed to the scene after the accident and attempted to move the 19-tonnes tanker through the night, they did not succeed. Luckily for them, it was empty at the time of the crash.

“The tanker was finally moved to the side of the road around 8.45am and the traffic returned to normal after a while,” said Namdeo Shinde, senior inspector at Mankhurd traffic division.

Preliminary investigation has revealed that the tanker was registered in Nagaland , said an officer. The police have contacted the Regional Transport Office to procure details of the tanker to find its owner.

“We have registered a case of rash driving against the unidentified driver, who fled from the spot with the cleaner. No one was injured. We did not find any documents in the tanker,” said K Shengle, senior inspector at Mankhurd police station.

Motorists complained of heavy traffic snarls along the stretch. The complaints started around 7.30 am and the congestion continued till 10.30am, according to the Mumbai traffic police.