CHENNAI: The police in Coimbatore arrested the driver of the gas tanker that overturned on Avinashi flyover in Coimbatore, spilling 20 metric tons of LPG.

According to a Daily Thanthi report, the traffic investigation wing police arrested the tanker driver Radhakrishnan, who was admitted to Coimbatore Government Hospital for treatment, around midnight on Friday.

A case has been registered against him, including under Motor Vehicles Act, and he was remanded in custody and sent to Coimbatore central jail.

On January 3, the tanker carrying 20 metric tons of LPG overturned on the Avinashi flyover in Coimbatore, triggering a gas leak. The huge risk it posed prompted the police to close the flyover, reroute vehicles, evacuate people from one-km radius from the accident site.

As many as 37 schools in the vicinity were asked to declare a holiday to ensure that children were not at risk.

It took more than four hours for the leak to stop, and eight hours for the tanker to be shifted from the flyover.