When efforts to secure overturned gas tanker in Kanhangad lasted hours

Kanhangad: The Kanhangad town was gripped by fear for hours on Friday following a leak in an overturned gas tanker. Officials were on high alert after the leak was reported, and the entire neighbourhood was evacuated. Only rescue officials were allowed in the area, and shops in the vicinity were also closed.

Meanwhile, vehicles were diverted from the Alamapally bus stand, and traffic was blocked along the National Highway at Arangady as well. From this point, vehicles were diverted via Arayi. Vehicles were also blocked at the Padannakkadu area. Heavy vehicles, including cargo carriers and tanker lorries, were made to halt along the national highway.

Vehicles headed from Kanhangad to Neeleswaram were diverted via Kallooravi from Puthiya Kotta, while vehicles from Neeleswaram to Kanhangad were diverted via Madikai and Kalyan Road.

The district administration declared a local holiday yesterday in view of the emergency. Holidays were declared in wards 18, 19, and 26. Authorities ordered a holiday for schools in the town and neighbouring areas after the gas leak was confirmed, and students were allowed to return home by afternoon. However, students in the affected area found it tough to get back home.

People evacuated
People in the neighbourhood where the tanker overturned were evacuated and around 200 people were shifted to Arangady Karimul Islam ALP School and the Muppathanarkavu temple auditorium. Power supply to the entire area too was completely switched off.

Rescue delayed by hours
The gas tanker accident occurred on Thursday afternoon along the National Highway at Kovval Store in Kanhangad. The vehicle, which was transporting cooking gas from Mangaluru to Coimbatore, was travelling along the service road of the highway when the mishap happened.

As the tanker was about to merge onto the main road, a private bus suddenly approached from the opposite direction. In an attempt to give way, the tanker veered to the side, hit a roadside pit and overturned.

The LPG Quick Response Team soon arrived and confirmed that there was no immediate gas leakage. Based on this, efforts were made to lift the overturned tanker with the help of local residents at 9 AM the following day.

However, authorities had not put in place adequate safety measures in the event of a potential gas leak, an oversight that left many residents concerned and on edge.

Indifference by authorities
The tension among local residents was heightened by the authorities’ failure to find a solution even 24 hours after the accident. Residents had repeatedly voiced their concerns about a possible gas leak during the process of lifting the overturned tanker. Proper arrangements should have been made to transfer the gas to another tanker in such a situation.

Representatives of political parties had clearly communicated this to the authorities. However, efforts to deploy HP’s Quick Response vehicle were initiated only after gas had actually started leaking. The vehicle, which left at 1 PM, reached the site only by 3 PM. Throughout this period, the entire neighbourhood remained on tenterhooks. A major disaster was narrowly averted after the leakage was brought under partial control.

Collective rescue efforts
Various departments swung into coordinated action the moment the accident was reported. District Collector K Imbasekhar issued the necessary instructions.

Kanhangad municipal chairperson K V Sujatha, ADM P Akhil, DySP Babu Peringath, Kannur district fire officer Arun Bhaskar, fire officer K K Dileesh, RDO in-charge Binu Joseph, Hosdurg tahsildar G Suresh Babu, civil defence volunteers under divisional warden P P Pradeep Kumar, along with revenue officials, ward councillors, KSEB, Motor Vehicles Department, Health Department, and the HPCL Quick Response Team were all actively involved in the rescue operations.

Race against time.
As fear gripped the region, emergency services swung into action. Seven fire engines rushed to the scene, summoned from Kanhangad, Kasaragod, Uppala and Thrikkaripoor. Three ambulances too waited on standby.

Bus traced
Police investigations, aided by CCTV footage, soon traced the vehicle that triggered the accident. The private bus named Cousins, operates on the Kanhangad–Parappa–Erikkulam route. According to the footage, the bus had swerved across the lane at a great speed, forcing the tanker lorry to veer off the service road in a desperate attempt to avoid a collision. In the process, the tanker landed in a roadside pit and overturned.
Though the bus was taken into custody for questioning, it was later released. A case was registered against the driver