Pune

A truck belonging to the civic body in the western Indian city of Pune and a couple of two-wheelers fell into a massive sinkhole that abruptly appeared on Friday (Sep 20). The incident took place in the parking area of the City Post Office located in the crowded Samadhan Chowk of the Budhwar Peth area in the city. 

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The incident caused alarm in the area but fortunately, there was no casualty as the driver of the truck managed to get out in the nick of time. Notably, the truck belonging to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), used to clean drainage lines, was parked when the ground, paved with interlocking cement blocks, gave way. 

As many as 20 personnel of the fire department and police were roped in for the rescue operation. 

"At 4.15 pm IST we received a call that at the City Post Office on Laxmi Road a truck fell after the road caved in. Our two fire vehicles reached the spot. We came to know that the truck was there to carry out drainage cleaning work," Fire Department PRO Nilesh Mahajan was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

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"The driver jumped off the vehicle, so he is safe. Metro officials have arrived here. We have called JCB machines and cranes to pull the truck out. Our priority is to take out the vehicle. The pit might be 40-50 feet deep," he added. 

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Netizens react

Dramatic video of the incident has gone viral on social media with netizens calling out the corruption and lack of quality infrastructure from the authorities. 

One user said, "Mother Earth is fighting back against corruption", while another questioned: "How can the roads be so hollow that they can’t even handle a single truck?"

A third commented: "All I can say is that Karma is a b***h. Common people have to travel on horrible roads. Hope that PMC will learn a lesson from this."

Also read | Gurugram accident: Horrific video shows bike crashing into SUV coming from wrong side

Suhas Yadav, ward officer of the Kasba Vishrambaug ward office said an enquiry should be done on what led to the sinkhole developing in the middle of the city. 

(With inputs from agencies)