Palm oil tanker topples near Basrur, driver escaped with minor injuries

Mangalore Today News Network

Kundapur, Sep 5,2017: A tanker loaded with palm oil fell into a roadside gorge at Hunsekatte near Basrur town at around midnight on Monday September 4. On impact, the oil spilled into the ground, and the driver,who suffered injuries, was hospitalized.

The tanker was carrying palm oil from Mangaluru to Haveri.  Near Hunsekatte,  when a vehicle in front of the tanker suddenly slowed down after seeing an auto rickshaw driver ahead pushing his vehicle on the road. Apparently, the auto had developed technical trouble and had stopped on the road.

In an attempt to avoid hitting the vehicle in front of him, the tanker driver tried to overtake instead. This manoeuvre backfired spectacularly as another vehicle came head-on.  To avoid a head-on collision, the driver braked hard, the tanker went out of control, hit the railings of the bridge and fell into the gorge.

The injured tanker driver has been identified as Raju (40) from Chitradurga. After getting treated in a private hospital in town, the driver left for his hometown.

The locals, who saw oil gushing out of  the fallen tanker, came armed with various containers and collected as much palm oil as they could . Some were heard saying that the oil collected now would be enough to celebrate Navaratri and Deepavali festivals.

A case about this accident was filed in the traffic police station in Kundapur.