Shillong, Oct 3: Passengers of a car escaped from the jaws of death, near Pomlum village along the Shillong-Dawki road when a boulder tumbled down on Thursday night.
The incident happened at around 7 pm. The Alto 800 car was moving from the stretch where road cutting works are underway for expansion of the road.
The passengers inside the vehicle managed to get out in time but the boulder struck and mangled the car.
The Shillong-Dawki road construction is precarious due to frequent landslides, often triggered by road expansion activities. Heavy rainfall has also made the area highly sensitive to landslides prompting authorities to regulate movement of vehicles from Laitkyngkot to Lyngkyrdem daily with a caution to commuters not to travel during the night.
It was only on October 1 and 2 that the Additional Deputy Commissioner Pynursla Civil Sub-Division offered a relaxation allowing movement of vehicles. However, due to incessant rain and landslide, yesterday authorities had ordered closure of the road for safety of commuters until further notice.
On September 24 a landslide halted the flow of traffic. Officials involved in the construction of the road said that there was a dynamiting of the hill near Pomlum to widen that stretch since the use of earth movers was not feasible. Officials also informed that as many as four workers received minor injuries in the incident.
