In a dramatic incident that caused panic and disrupted evening traffic, a call taxi carrying five passengers fell into a sinkhole that suddenly formed near Tidel Park in Chennai on Saturday evening. The incident occurred around 6:30 PM, during peak traffic hours, on the busy Rajiv Gandhi Salai (OMR), one of the city’s key arterial roads.The taxi driver, Vignesh (40), had picked up a family from Sholinganallur. The passengers included a software employee, his wife, and their two children, who were on their way to Chennai Central Railway Station. As the car approached the signal near Tidel Park, the road caved in unexpectedly, swallowing the vehicle into a deep pit.
The sudden cave-in led to severe traffic disruption in the area. However, alert traffic police personnel and nearby motorists quickly responded to the scene. With the help of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) contractors, all passengers were pulled out safely. Fortunately, no major injuries were reported.
Soon after the rescue, police cordoned off the affected area and diverted traffic to avoid further chaos. Senior officials from CMRL, Chennai Corporation, Metrowater, and other concerned departments rushed to inspect the site.
In a statement, CMRL clarified that the sinkhole occurred approximately 300 metres away from their project site, between Thiruvanmiyur and Taramani. “We wish to inform and confirm that the sinkhole is not related to any of CMRL’s work. A suspected leakage in a 2.2-metre diameter sewer line passing through the area likely caused the collapse,” the statement read.
CMRL has coordinated with its contractors to provide necessary machinery for retrieving the vehicle from the pit and is assisting other civic agencies in the restoration process.
This incident has raised concerns over the safety of roads in infrastructure-heavy zones and the need for regular maintenance checks, especially in areas where underground utilities run beneath busy roadways.