In a shocking incident in Jharkhand’s Godda district, a truck plummeted 40 feet off a road and collided with a coal-laden railway rake early Monday morning, leaving the driver and his helper critically injured. The accident occurred on the Mahagama-Lalmatia route around 3:30 AM, disrupting rail operations for several hours.
The heavily loaded truck, bearing registration JH12S 7078, veered off the road, smashed through railings, and crashed onto the NTPC’s NGR railway track below. Upon impact with the passing coal rake, the vehicle’s front was completely mangled, and it overturned. Eyewitnesses reported the truck driver, Lalu Kumar, trapped under the train bogie, while his assistant Manish Kumar remained pinned inside the cabin for nearly three hours.
NTPC rescue teams, alerted at 6 AM, rushed to the site along with local police. Under the leadership of Shubhashish Banerjee, the NTPC rescue head, a daring operation ensued. ‘We received intel from senior command and mobilized immediately,’ Banerjee stated. The team extricated Manish from the wreckage before rushing both victims to a nearby hospital.
This mishap highlights ongoing safety concerns on the hilly stretches of the Mahagama-Lalmatia highway. Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause, suspected to be speeding or poor visibility. Rail traffic on the vital NTPC coal corridor was halted, causing delays in coal supply to power plants. Both injured men are under treatment, with their conditions described as stable but serious.