Truck gets stuck in manhole, overturns

Four pedestrians were injured in a freak accident after they were hit by a brickladen truck near the booking counter at Vidyavihar railway station on Friday afternoon. The driver was reversing the vehicle near the station when it overturned, after one of its tyres got stuck in a manhole.Vishnu Laxman Mayekar, 54, Dinesh Giri, 34, Sandesh Dhavne, 25, and Saddam Hussain, 20, were injured in the accident which occurred at 12.10 pm outside Vidyavihar station. Truck driver Madan Gopal Kanojia, 34, was transporting material to a construction site.

The truck was driving past the station at Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Marg when its tyre got stuck in the manhole. Kanojia tried to accelerate, causing the truck to tilt and overturn; pedestrian Dhavne was giving directions to the driver and suffered injuries in the process. In fact, he fell unconscious after the mishap.

According to Sudhir Nigudkar, senior police inspector, Ghatkopar police, Kanojia has been booked and arrested for rash driving, riding on a public way and causing hurt.

Railway officials, Mumbai fire brigade, National Disaster Response Force staff and Ghatkopar Police, who were at the spot, rushed the victims to Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar. The condition of the victims is stable. The truck was later lifted with the help of a crane. The road towards the station was cleared by 4 pm on Friday.