Autorickshaw driver crushed to death after metro viaduct falls on vehicle in Bengaluru

Preliminary reports by the Yelahanka Traffic Police note that an 18-wheeler truck was carrying the metro viaduct, which is a concrete structure designed to carry railway lines atop the metro pillars.

Bengaluru: In a horrifying accident, an auto-rickshaw driver was crushed to death after a metro viaduct portion toppled over and fell on the vehicle near Kogilu Cross in North Bengaluru, on the intervening night between Tuesday and Wednesday.

Thirty-five-year-old Kasim Saab was instantly killed, while his passenger managed to miraculously escape. The auto-rickshaw was completely crushed under the weight of the concrete structure.

Preliminary reports by the Yelahanka Traffic Police note that an 18-wheeler truck was carrying a metro girder, which is a concrete structure designed to carry railway lines atop the metro pillars. At the Kogilu Cross Junction on the Ballari Road highway, the truck driver reportedly slammed the brakes, causing the girder to fall on one side. The incident occurred around 12.10 am.

“The concrete slab was not fixed securely to the top of the truck. When the driver applied the brakes suddenly, the ropes holding the slab snapped and the slab fell to the side, crushing the auto-rickshaw beneath it,” said an officer from the Yelahanka Traffic Police Station.

The truck driver, who abandoned the vehicle and fled from the scene, is yet to be traced, as of Wednesday morning.

Several passers-by who witnessed the incident rushed to the rescue of the auto-rickshaw driver but to no avail. They had to wait for a large crane to arrive to lift the concrete slab off the rickshaw, by which time a huge crowd had gathered around the site of the accident.

The girder was being transported as part of the Phase 2B metro construction, the 37 km stretch of the Blue Line or the ORR line connecting KR Puram to the Kempegowda International Airport. This stretch is likely to have 17 stations, with one station near the site of Tuesday night’s freak incident.

The Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) reacted to the incident, explaining that the girder was being transported by the long carrier truck from a nearby casting yard.

“While the truck took a turn, a sudden braking to avoid a vehicle which rushed in front of the trailer caused the girder to fall on an auto-rickshaw and resulted in the death of the driver. The body of the auto-rickshaw driver was recovered using cranes and, despite medical attention, he was declared dead by medical authorities. Our deepest condolences go out to the family of the deceased,” read a statement from BMRCL.

It added that it will compensate the family of the deceased as per protocol.

A similar such incident had occurred on January 10, 2023, when an under-construction metro pillar near HBR Layout on the Outer Ring Road collapsed and fell on a four-member family travelling on a motorcycle, killing Tejaswini L Sulakhe and her two-and-a-half-year-old son, Vihan L Sulakhe.