THANE: Thousands of motorists from the lake city headed towards Borivli and its suburbs had a harrowing time on Ghodbunder Road after a tanker loaded with chemicals toppled near Gaimukh at 5.45am on Wednesday. The incident took place on the Borivli-bound stretch. Traffic came to a complete halt for about three-and-a-half hours. Office-goers were the most affected as the incident took place during peak hours.According to the police, the tanker driver, Suhas Satre, was heading from Nava Sheva to Vapi. Satre failed to maoeuvre a turn and lost control of the vehicle. The tanker loaded with chemicals toppled. Approximately 22.17 metric tonnes of chemical spilled on the road. However, no injury or fatality was reported.A team of fire brigade officials and regional disaster management cell (RDMC) reached the spot and began rescue operations.Santosh Kadam, officer at RDMC, said, “We rushed to the spot with a quick response vehicle and water tanker. The chemical spilled till about 1.5kms. Since it would have been dangerous for traffic to ply we had to halt vehicles. Our officials then put mud on the chemical. We believe the driver lost control of the vehicle while taking a turn, resulting in the accident .”Traffic inspector at Kasarwadavli, Shrikrishna Kardile, said, “Our team had received a call early in the morning. With the help of two other officials and a crane we managed to lift the heavy vehicle and bring it to one side so that the chemical spilled on the road could be cleared off quickly. Then by 7am more staff was deployed to tackle the traffic situation. We had diverted the light vehicles on the opposite side. Traffic started moving smoothly by around 8.30am. It was fortunate that the chemical was not hazardous in nature or else it could have led to a massive disaster.”Office-goers had a tough time due to the traffic snarl. Ashwin Joshi, a commuter who travels regularly from Thane to Borivli via Ghodbundar road, said, “Usually I reach office in 45 minutes from my residence at Pokhran Road 1. Today, however, it took me double the time to reach work. Traffic was moving slowly due to the accident.”

Stay updated with all the Latest Thane headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.