A car fell into a sinkhole that suddenly developed after a section of Rajiv Gandhi Salai (IT Expressway) caved in near Tidel Park on Thursday (October 8, 2026).
The incident occurred around 10.50 a.m. amid peak-hour traffic on the IT Corridor. The SUV was proceeding from Adyar towards Taramani when the road caved in, causing the car to fall and then roll over in the pit.
Occupants escape
The driver, Praveen, 27, sustained minor injuries. A 52-year-old woman was also in the car. Both occupants managed to escape from the vehicle before it fell and rolled over in the pit, the police said. Traffic police personnel on duty and other motorists rushed to their rescue.
Mr. Praveen said, “We were proceeding in our car along Rajiv Gandhi Salai from Indira Nagar, Adyar, towards the Tidel Park signal. We were moving slowly as the vehicles ahead of us were also moving at a similar pace towards the signal. Suddenly, the front wheel of our car went into what appeared to be a small pothole, and the front portion of the vehicle began sinking into it. Sensing danger, we immediately got out of the vehicle. Passersby also rushed to our rescue.”
“Within moments, the small hole widened into a huge pit, and our vehicle capsized into it. The pit was so deep that it was large enough to swallow a big vehicle,” he said.
A car plunged and toppled into a sinkhole after a portion of road caved in near #TidelPark in #Chennai on Thursday, disrupting traffic along the busy arterial road. The 2 occupants escaped unhurt.
📸&📹: J. Johan Sathyadas (@JohanSathyadas) / The Hindu
📹: Special Arrangement https://t.co/5L4BIfHyGF— The Hindu – Chennai (@THChennai) October 8, 2026
Veena Krishnamurthy, an IT professional who travelled in the car said, “I travel to Siruseri for work almost three or four days a week and live in Adyar. This morning, I was travelling in my car with my driver. There was an ambulance on the left, so the driver moved to the right. Suddenly, the road beneath us caved in. There was no visible hole or warning — the road just gave away. The car was left hanging over the pit. I immediately told the driver that we should get out. We opened the doors on the left side, which was still on the road, and got out. He also took my bag and other belongings. After we got out, the driver thought he could reverse the car. But While the car was still hanging over the pit, a bus passed by. The vibration caused by the bus made the car tilt and eventually topple into the pit. We had been out of the car for just a few minutes.”
“I don’t know what would have happened if we had still been inside when the car fell. It was an extremely traumatic experience. The road had apparently been dug up for water or metro work, and there seemed to be nothing underneath. I usually worry about something falling on me because of all the metro work, but I never imagined the road itself would cave in. We escaped by just a few minutes. With roads being dug up at so many places, it is becoming very unsafe to travel,” added Ms. Veena.
With the help of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) contractors, the car was safely pulled occupants out of the pit. The police immediately cordoned off the affected stretch and diverted traffic. Vehicular movement was affected along Rajiv Gandhi Salai and adjoining areas.
CMRL tunnelling work likely cause
Sources in the Tamil Nadu Road Development Company (TNRDC) said their engineers had held a joint inspection, along with CMWSSB officials, and no leak was found in the water main running at that spot. The cave-in was not caused by the water line as there was no drop in pressure, they said, adding that the layers of soil on top had been disturbed due to tunnelling activity below the surface, since CMRL work was being carried out at the spot.
Cement concrete was poured into the hole after the car was lifted using a crane. “After the hole is filled with concrete and it settles, a steel sheet will be laid on top and vehicles will be allowed to pass,” an official said.
Meanwhile, CMRL acknowledged that its tunnelling work from Thiruvanmiyur to Taramani had caused the road to cave in. In a statement, the CMRL said a sinkhole surfaced on Rajiv Gandhi Salai, opposite the Elnet Building near the Bhavani Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), which was currently tunnelling for Corridor 3 of CMRL Phase II from Thiruvanmiyur towards Taramani.
Car owner to be compensated
According to CMRL officials, the tunnelling work began recently, and the loss of face support pressure in the TBM may have resulted in the cave-in. “They should have been more careful during the operation of the machine. At the moment, we suspect this is the issue. We will investigate the matter further. The owner of the vehicle will be compensated for the damages caused due to the incident,” an official said.
The incident occurred at approximately 10:45 AM,around 30 metres from the Thiruvanmiyur shaft. A car fell into the sinkhole. The driver is safe. The vehicle was also lifted from the sinkhole. The backfilling of the sinkhole with concrete is currently under way. Necessary safety and site-protection measures are being undertaken to secure the area, and technical inquiry is ongoing, CMRL said.
In May 2025, a call taxi carrying five passengers had fallen into a similar pit that had developed on the same road after a cave-in.
