After a 24-hour-long effort on Sunday, the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in the overturned tanker lorry was safely transferred to other tankers with the support of a team of trained technicians from Kochi. Five tankers were brought to the location to transfer the entire load.
On Sunday morning, the lorry was lifted with the support of four giant industrial cranes.
Until then, the Fire and Rescue Services personnel guarded it by spraying water and avoiding chances of explosion.
Traffic regulation Police personnel from Nadakkavu, Vellayil, and Elathur stations were present all through to control the traffic and crowd in the area.
The Fire and Rescue Service personnel brought 12 units of fire engines from various stations to the spot.
District Fire Officer Arun Bhasker and Meenchanda fire station officer Ajith Kumar led the units.
Lakshmipathi, general manager of the IOC plant at Chelari, helped the team to temporarily stop the LPG leakage and bring the situation under control.
Power supply Traffic was restored on the mini-bypass route by 4 p.m. Power supply in and around West Hill and East Hill regions was also reinstated by the time.
Police officials who were present on the spot till the completion of the entire rescue operation works said it was by sheer luck that the tanker did not explode. “If there was a minor spark, it would have been a dreadful situation and we were hardly equipped to meet such an a ccident,” they said.
Protest Soon after the tanker was removed from the accident spot, a group of people staged a protest demanding payment of compensation to the kin of the person who was killed in the accident. The protesters also sought compensation for a resident whose house suffered minor damages.
The tanker lorry, which was on its way from Mangalore to Coimbatore, overturned on the mini-bypass road at West Hill-Chungam on Saturday.
Uppukandathil Ravi, 40, a native of Kunduparamba, was the victim in the accident.
