Puttur, Apr 10: The Perne road tragedy has made chill run down the spine of the locals who saw the incident happen right in front of their eyes. With prayer on their lips, the survivors of the incident, who have become witnessed to the tragedy say that they were probably a bit more lucky because they survived the catastrophic embrace of the same.
“I was purchasing some bakery items from a line salesman at my shop when I saw a fuel tanker run down the gorge. Within fraction of seconds, there was a blast with intense fire. Thick smoke blew up in shapes of mushrooms in the air, eating up not just the tanker but several thinks around the spot. I was hypnotized for a while and could not comprehend what was happening in front of my eyes,” says Umar Salimar, a witness to the incident who says that without clue he ran in opposite direction to save his life.
Even as Umar ran to escape from the fire, his saw his shop razed down. As soon as the incident happened, Umar saw coconut trees melt down like candles. Within no time the fire engulfed nearby houses and properties.
Turning point
There is a precarious turn at the spot where the mishap occurred. Just 20 kms from this spot there is another similar deep curve. The locals residents say that if at all the mishap had occurred in that curve, the magnitude of loss could have been beyond imagination because there is an educational institute situated right at this curve. Having seen irreversible losses, the local residents only urge the authorities to take measures to avert accidents on this stretch of road.
Putthu Monu, the savior
Putthu Monu from Gadiyar has been the savior in cases of several mishaps that happen on the National Highway in the region. Even on the day Perne road mishap took place and claimed several lives, Putthu Monu rushed to the spot and did all possible things to extinguish the fire.
Putthu Monu has been an expert in lifting the vehicles fallen into gorge in mishaps using pulleys. Even here, he tried to lift up a part of the tanker from mishap spot and also extended all possible help to bring the fire under control.
Great escapes
While eight people succumbed to the fatal fire flames in the mishap, a three-month old baby survived miraculously. The fire set ablaze residence of Abbas situated just 100 mts from the accident spot. While Abbas's sister-in-law Safiya (25) and his mother Hajimma (70) suffered serious burn injuries, his three-month old baby was found safe amidst the charred remains of the house.
Meanwhile, a garage owner survived the incident due to his stars. The owner of Sharavu auto works, Chandrashekar had left the garage just few minutes before the mishap. Today, though Chandrashekar mourns for his sole source of income, the garage, which has been reduced to ashes, he is glad that he has survived to built it again.
However, several people could save their lives by sensing trouble and running away from the spot.
Related: Fuel tanker inferno death toll rises to eight, Compensation declared: WATCH VIDEO
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