Thiruvananthapuram: Three persons including a bike rider were injured when a tree came crashing down on the national highway stretch near Pongumoodu on Wednesday.
The injured were identified as Jose, 41, of Powdikonam, Prince 28 of Kallambalam and Bhargavan , 61, of Pongumoodu were taken to Medical College Hospital. According to hospital authorities their injuries were minor and all have kept under observation.
The huge tree which was located on the Corporation owned land, fell on three two wheelers and two buses around 5.30 pm. According to eye witnesses, the fire and rescue officials reached the spot only after 30 to 40 minutes.
Traffic on the busy highway remained completely disrupted for nearly three hours. Local people swung into action and chopped off the branches to rescue the people who were trapped.
“The tree fell on a family which was on a two-wheeler. Though the mother and child got trapped under the branches, they escaped with minor injuries. Fire officials took almost an hour to reach the spot,” said Vishnujith, an eyewitness.
Some of the branches of the tree came crashing on three shops, causing partial damage. Meanwhile, fire officials at Chackai station claimed that they reached the spot immediately after receiving the call. “It took over 30 minutes because of the heavy traffic. We had to to seek help from Kazhakoottam station as the tree was huge. Just one passenger inside a bus got injured,” he said.
Ulloor ward councillor Chitra Shaji claimed that she had reported about the shallow rooted tree to the Corporation recently. “Though the tree looked visibly stable and strong, it was actually on a weak ground,” she added.
