50 Tonne Crane Crashes into roadside home; One Injured

ANAND OBEROI
AHO, PAKYONG, 22 Feb: A family of eight had a miraculous escape this morning when a 50 tonne crane belonging to builders, Punj Loyd Ltd working for the Airport Authority of India [AAI] at the airport site at Pakyong, lost control and crashed into the home of one Tikaram Poudyal at Bar Pipal Dara at Lower Aho, 10 minutes from Saramsa Gardens towards Pakyong today.

The vehicle lost control on a turning and skidded more than 37 feet, turned turtle and crashed into the roadside home, injuring Sarita Poudyal [the mother of the house] who was immediately rushed to Sir Thutob Namgyal Memorial [STNM] Hospital, where she is undergoing treatment. She was injured when the crane crashed through the bathroom. Her condition is reported to be stable.

The massive crane, which, according to eyewitnesses, was over-speeding, lost control at the spot at around 9 a.m. this morning and could have swept away the entire house and crashed into houses further below had it not been for the huge pile of stones and sand kept just outside the destroyed house which is believed to have slowed down the monster.
This, however, did not stop the vehicle from destroying almost 1,200 square feet of the residence at the road level which is also houses tenants in the floor below.
According to, Kamal Sharma, an eyewitness to the mishap, the accident cold have exacted a much higher cost had it happened any earlier; the children were not present during the time of the accident, having left minutes earlier for school. The rest of the family received only seconds of warning and jumped out of the window into the kitchen vegetable gardens when the crane came crashing into their home.
“This was something waiting to happen. We have seen reckless driving on these narrow roads ever since the project (airport) commenced. These drivers do not care for anything on the road and even the narrow alignment does not restrain them from speeding recklessly like this,” informed Kamal Sharma while speaking to NOW! at the spot today.
According to the police, the driver of the vehicle has been arrested and the AAI authorities informed about the incident. The Pakyong police, under whose jurisdiction the accident site falls, add that a mechanical examination of the vehicle will reveal what actually caused of the accident. The AAI authorities in the meantime have assured to compensate the family and provide them all required assistance in rebuilding their home and also bear the medical expenses of the victim.
“The vehicle was on its way to Siliguri and when in turned over, made such a huge racket that everyone in the village was startled and panic-stricken, the lady injured was having a bath when the vehicle crashed through the bathroom. If there were children walking to school or the accident had happened at night when the family was sleeping, then it could have been a major disaster,” Kamal Sharma adds, to reinforce how dangerous the situation was.
He, along with many of the villagers, also complained that it was ill-advised to allow such dangerous traffic on this stretch and also stressed the need for more speed breakers here since this was a busy village with children playing in the area throughout the day.