Kolkata: A sand-laden truck lost control while travelling at high speed and crashed into several shops at Bonhooghly More on BT Road in Baranagar around 3.30 am on Sunday, damaging at least five establishments before overturning. Police detained the driver.
A tragedy was averted as the shops were closed and there were fewer people on the road at the time of the accident.
According to police, the truck lost control while taking a right turn at Bonhooghly More. “It rammed into a row of shops, damaging at least five of them, before overturning on top of the establishments,” a police officer said.
Two cranes were brought in to remove the overturned truck, following which police detained the driver. The damaged shops included a tea stall, a flower shop, a stationery shop and two fast-food outlets.
“We came to know about the incident at around 4.30 am. When I reached the spot, I found that five shops, including my fast-food shop, had been completely destroyed. The sand-laden truck had overturned on top of our shops. Police later brought two cranes to remove the truck. We have lodged a complaint at Baranagar police station against the truck owner and driver, demanding compensation,” Debashish Paul, a resident of Bonhooghly, told TOI.
The accident comes days after two schoolchildren were killed in another road accident on BT Road in the Baranagar area.