A chemical tanker carrying resin overturned on Charoti Bridge in Dahanu taluka of Maharashtra’s Palghar district on Thursday afternoon, injuring the driver and prompting a multi-agency operation to secure the vehicle and clean the bridge.
The incident occurred at around 2.30 pm on September 17 as the tanker was travelling from Gujarat to Taloja, officials said. The vehicle was carrying resin, a chemical used in the manufacture of colours and paints.
A chemical expert who assessed the substance said the material was non-flammable, according to officials. Authorities nevertheless began removing the tanker from the bridge to prevent further risk at the site and to restore normal movement on the road.
Three cranes were deployed to upright the tanker and shift it to the side of the road. Officials said the bridge would subsequently be washed with soil and water as part of the cleanup operation.
Fire tenders from the Palghar Fire Brigade, Dahanu Municipal Council, Adani Thermal Power and Boisar MIDC were involved in the response. The presence of municipal, industrial and disaster-response teams reflects the coordination required when a vehicle carrying industrial chemicals overturns on a bridge.
The tanker driver suffered minor injuries and was taken to a hospital in Kasa for treatment. No other injuries were reported in the information available from the authorities.
Officials said traffic moving in both directions beneath the bridge was running smoothly and that there was no disruption to traffic at the time of their assessment. The tanker-removal operation, however, was continuing at the site and authorities were working to bring traffic movement on the bridge back to normal.
Kasa Police Inspector Amar Patil, Talasari Tehsildar Amol Pathak, Dahanu Tehsildar Sunil Koli and District Disaster Management Officer Vivekanand Kadam were present and monitoring the operation, officials said. The next operational steps were to complete the tanker removal, wash the affected section of the bridge and restore normal traffic movement.
