Locals loot onions after truck accident on expressway near Lonavala
The accident took place on Valvan bridge while the truck was travelling towards Pune (Picture: Dr Binu Varghese)
The accident of an onion-laden truck in Lonavala left both its driver and cleaner injured on Thursday morning. The tragedy, however, turned out to be a boon for people from nearby villages who wasted little time in plundering the unclaimed crop.
According to officials, the truck was travelling from Mumbai to Pune around 6:30 am when the driver lost control of the vehicle near Valvan bridge.
The bridge has two separate lanes, one for vehicles travelling towards Mumbai and the other for Pune-bound ones, with a gap in the middle.
The truck carrying onions fell from the gap in the centre of the bridge, landing sideways on the old Mumbai-Pune highway about 50 feet below. Since there were no other vehicles on the road below, only the truck’s driver and cleaner sustained injuries.
Eye-witnesses said both of them left the spot after the accident. Meanwhile, as news of the accident spread, locals gathered with gunny bags to raid large quantities of the fallen and free crop.
Since officials from highway safety patrol could not trace the duo initially, they alerted the truck’s owner about the mishap.
By this time, a large group of onion-gathering locals had blocked the highway, affecting traffic movement for an hour. The traffic officials got them to leave and subsequently cleared the wreckage with the help of a crane.
