Navi Mumbai, Feb 23: Twenty days after a propylene gas tanker overturned near the Adoshi tunnel and crippled traffic for 34 hours, another 21-tonne tanker carrying the highly inflammable gas met with an accident on the Mumbai–Pune Expressway near Amrutanjan Bridge in the Borghat section on Monday morning, raising fresh concerns over hazardous material transport through the ghat stretch.
Brakes allegedly fail on Borghat slope
The tanker was travelling from Kochi to Gujarat when its brakes allegedly failed while descending the steep Borghat slope around 10 am. With sharp curves and a sharp gradient ahead, the situation threatened to spiral into a major disaster.
Driver averts major mishap
Displaying presence of mind, the driver deliberately rammed the vehicle into a roadside retaining wall, bringing the tanker to a halt and averting a potentially catastrophic mishap. No injuries were reported, though traffic towards Mumbai was disrupted for close to an hour.
Incident follows earlier Adoshi tunnel mishap
The incident comes close on the heels of the February 3 accident near the Adoshi tunnel, where a propylene tanker had overturned, leading to a gas leak and massive congestion on the expressway for nearly 36 hours. Monday’s recurrence has once again put the spotlight on safety standards for vehicles transporting highly flammable gases along the accident-prone ghat section.
Emergency teams rush to spot
Following the latest mishap, teams from the Highway Traffic Police, IRB patrol units, the Devdoot fire brigade, Delta Force, Maharashtra Security Force personnel, and the Help Foundation rushed to the scene. As a precautionary measure, Mumbai-bound traffic was temporarily halted.
Technical inspection and clearance
Chemical expert Dhananjay Gidh from the Help Foundation examined the tanker’s pressure levels and checked for any leakage risk before clearance operations began. With the assistance of cranes and pullers, the tanker was shifted nearly two kilometres away to a safer open location.
The operation was conducted under the guidance of Police Inspector Sachin Hire of Khopoli Police Station and Assistant Police Inspector Swapnil Patil of the Highway Traffic Police. RTO officer Raote carried out a technical inspection of the vehicle, and the incident has been officially recorded at Khopoli Police Station.
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No leakage reported
"There was no leakage and hence our priority was to remove the tanker from the road, which took close to an hour, after which the traffic was smooth," PI Hire said.
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