A taxi driver and a family of four had a narrow escape after the car they were travelling in fell into an eight-foot-deep sinkhole formed by a road cave-in on Rajiv Gandhi Salai near Tidel Park in Chennai on Saturday, May 17.
The incident occurred around 6.30 pm during rush hour when the taxi driver, identified as Shollinganallur resident Maridas (47), was taking Vignesh (42), his wife Dhanya (32), and their children Aswanth (12) and Advaith (7) to the Chennai Central Railway Station.
Passing motorists and on-duty traffic police who were at the site rushed to their aid. Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services personnel arrived and rescued the trapped passengers with the help of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) contractors. All five were shifted to a nearby hospital for first-aid. No major injuries were reported. In the aftermath, traffic police blocked off the road and diverted the traffic.
A sewer line leakage from a 2.2 m diameter underground pipe of the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) was cited as the reason for the road cave-in. Teams from the Tamil Nadu Road Development Company (TNRDC), which maintains the OMR stretch, inspected the site and began restoration of the road in coordination with CMWSSB.
Meanwhile, CMRL clarified that the incident had occurred 300 m away from a CMRL site hoarding and was not linked to metro construction happening in the area.