The driver of a container trailer-truck was crushed to death after a container hit his cabin while in transit on New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT) premises here on Wednesday night even as workers alleged negligence by the logistics company and NMPT in leaving the container unlocked on the trailer.
In his complaint to Panambur Police, Yashodhara, a trailer-truck driver, said that he and the deceased, Vinod Poojary (58), worked for Delta Infralogistics, Kulur.
Poojary brought two containers of 20 tonnes each from a container ship, Ionian Express, from Berth No 3 on Wednesday night. While he unloaded one container at the yard and was on his way to unload the other at a little distance away, the container crashed into his cabin when the trailer was negotiating a curve. He was declared brought dead at the NMPT Hospital.
Mr. Yashodhara said that the container hit the truck cabin solely because it was not hitched onto the trailer. He said that the shipping company and its personnel were negligent in discharging their duties.
Appeal to NMPT
Convener of the Mangaluru unit of All India Port Workers Federation S. Diwakar told The Hindu that the federation had given a representation to NMPT in 2017 to ensure that containers were properly locked to trailers/truck bodies following many instances of what he called slipping of containers.
The federation had also demanded that containers under import should not directly be loaded upon trucks/trailers; but be unloaded on the berth and later be loaded onto trucks.
There was an instance of a container slipping from the crane and crashing onto a truck. These precautions, however, were not enforced by the port and followed by transporters as both wanted to save on time involved in locking and unlocking containers for faster turnaround of vessels, Mr. Diwakar said. Panambur Police Inspector Azmath Ali said that the police have taken up a case under Section 304A of the Indian Penal Code (causing death by negligence). The probe would reveal the exact reason for the accident, he added.
