Efforts being made to clear the crash site.
Credit: Special arrangement
Bengaluru: As many as six cranes were engaged in the efforts to clear the crash site off the national highway on the outskirts of Bengaluru on Saturday after a brutal road accident killed a tech company MD and five of his family members.
Chandram Yegapagol (46), his wife Gaurabai (40), his children Gyaan (16) and Deeksha (10), sister-in-law Vijayalakshmi (35), and niece Arya (6), were killed after a speeding truck lost balance, jumped lanes and toppled on their Volvo car near Nelamangala.
Police and rescue workers were immediately dispatched to the spot as traffic began piling up on the busy, national highway near Nelamangala and a few km from Begur. C K Baba, Superintendent of Police (Bengaluru Rural), oversaw the rescue operations.
“Six cranes had to be brought in to move the vehicles involved in the accident and remove the container filled with heavy metal objects,” Baba told DH.
“With the help of our staff, firefighters, crane operators and timely assistance from drivers and cleaners, we managed to clear the way within an hour and a half.”
The accident occurred between 11.15 am to 11.20 am and by 1.15 pm, the debris was cleared and bodies recovered, according to the police.
“It took nearly an hour just to lift the heavy container truck containing aluminium pillars from the car, which was crushed below,” a senior officer said.
“Then the bodies were removed and moved to the hospital. There was fuel leakage, too, and everyone was racing against the clock to clear the crash site.”
Traffic was halted temporarily on the stretch for around 8 km and moved at a snail's pace, while the rescue workers and police officers cleared the debris.
The area of crash on the national highway is said to be accident prone and police officers expressed concerns about the narrow lanes. “It is an old highway with limited lanes and can't cater to the volume of incoming vehicles,” a police officer involved with the probe said.