Lorry plunges into lake near Anekal, no trace of driver

BENGALURU:A lorry loaded with gravel, plunged into a lake along with its driver when he was trying to avoid a pothole on the Attibele‑Sarjapura road in Anekal taluk late on Monday night.

The lorry driver, Mahesh (37), originally from Kalaburagi, is feared to have drowned in the lake. The 12‑wheel lorry, loaded with gravel, is suspected to have fallen into the lake around 11.30 pm on Monday night.

The lorry was travelling from Attibele to Sarjapura when the driver tried to dodge a pothole, lost control and the vehicle plunged into the lake with the driver. The road over the lake is very narrow, and the bad state of the state highway has led to an increase in the number of accidents.

A tender for road development has been awarded to RNS Infrastructure Limited, but the road over the lake has not been widened. This narrow road is riddled with potholes. A year ago, a bus overturned at the same spot, injuring 18 Om Shakti devotees.

Now another mishap has occurred, with the lorry and driver falling into the lake. The SDRF, fire brigade and the police were at the scene conducting search and rescue operations along with lifting the lorry out of the lake using a crane.