Rescue crane crushes two onlookers to death in Kovai

Police said that a sand laden truck was heading from Podanur to Ganapathy in the city around 6 am on Friday. One of the front tyres of the truck burst when the vehicle was on the Puliyakulam Road. The driver lost control and hit the concrete median. The vehicle landed on the other side of the road. Police rushed to the spot and started clearing the damaged truck off the road to ensure smooth flow of traffic. A crane was roped in for the service around 8 am. The crane operator frantically tried to move the lorry. But he failed in the attempts as the truck was loaded with sand. Around 9 am, the crane operator once again tried to move the sand lorry, but unfortunately, the crane lost its balance and fell on its side. 

Paramasivam (32), a painter from the locality who was watching the crane in action was crushed under it and he died on the spot. Another crane was brought to the spot to set right the fallen crane and retrieve his body. Another onlooker Chinnapparaj (69) suffered a head injury and was rushed to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, where he died in the afternoon. Deputy Commissioner (Traffic) S Saravanan told DTNext that both the victims were standing on the steps of nearby shops and watching the first crane lift the truck when the mishap occurred. He said that the police tried to clear the public who gathered there in large numbers to see the recovery of the sand-laden truck. “The public however moved to the nearby shops despite the attempts made by the police to clear the place,” he said. The Deputy Commissioner said that a case will be registered against the crane operator under section 304(A) (causing death due to negligence) of the Indian  Penal Code.