A horrific accident unfolded late Thursday night on February 27, 2026, around 12:55 AM beneath Mumbai's Eastern Freeway on Sewri-Chembur Road near Khar Ganga Jal in Wadala East, when a massive 40-ton iron plate tumbled from a container truck, instantly killing a car driver attempting to overtake. The Ertiga car bore the full brunt of the falling load, which crushed the vehicle completely and trapped the driver beneath its immense weight. Eyewitnesses described the sudden chaos as the heavy plate shifted unexpectedly, plummeting directly onto the overtaking car amid the poorly lit, pothole-ridden stretch frequented by heavy transport vehicles from the nearby port.
Victim's tragic end and rescue efforts
The victim was identified as 35-year-old Mohammed Jameer Hasanuddin Siddiqui, a resident of Mohammed Estate near the fire brigade in BKC, who succumbed to severe crushing injuries at the scene. Emergency responders, including police and heavy machinery operators, battled for hours to lift the enormous plate using cranes and a poclain machine before they could extricate the mangled body. The corpse, badly disfigured from the impact, was rushed to KEM Hospital for post-mortem examination as distraught locals gathered, grappling with the shocking brutality of the incident.
Police action and ongoing probe
Wadala Police swiftly registered a case and took the container driver into custody for interrogation, focusing on potential negligence like improper securing of the load- possibly exacerbated by the uneven road surface jarring the chains holding the plate, which was en route from Mumbai Port to a factory in Surat. The Thane-based transport firm cooperated by providing driver details after he initially fled the site. With an FIR filed under relevant sections for causing death by negligence, investigators are piecing together CCTV footage and witness accounts to determine lapses in safety protocols for oversized cargo.
