14 hrs ago
Car Plunges Into Chennai Sinkhole Near Tidel Park
A road near Tidel Park in Chennai suddenly collapsed as a car drove over it.
The car fell into a deep hole and turned upside down.
A man and a woman were inside, but both got out safely.
Workers began removing the car and fixing the road.
The collapse also caused traffic delays.
Officials said an old sewage pipe under the road may have failed at a joint, washing away soil beneath the road.
Chennai Metro Rail Limited had not said whether Metro construction contributed to the collapse.
A similar road collapse nearby in 2025 injured five people.
A car carrying a man and a woman fell into a sinkhole near Tidel Park on Chennai’s Old Mahabalipuram Road on Thursday morning, October 8, 2026; both occupants escaped unhurt.
The road collapsed while the car was passing, and the vehicle overturned in a crater estimated at about 10 feet deep.
The collapse disrupted traffic; workers began removing the car and repairing the damaged road.
Officials attributed the collapse to a failed joint in an ageing sewage line beneath the road, while Chennai Metro Rail Limited had not clarified whether Metro construction played a role.
A similar cave-in near Thiruvanmiyur Junction in May 2025 reportedly followed a sewage-pipeline failure and injured five people.
- Who
- A man and a woman travelling in the car; both escaped unhurt.
- What
- A road collapsed, leaving a car overturned in a sinkhole estimated at about 10 feet deep.
- Where
- Old Mahabalipuram Road near Tidel Park in the Thiruvanmiyur area of Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
- When
- Thursday morning, October 8, 2026.
- Why
- Officials said a joint in an ageing underground sewage line is believed to have failed, causing soil erosion beneath the road. Chennai Metro Rail Limited had not clarified whether Metro construction contributed.
Sewage-Line Failure
Metro Construction Role
What caused the collapse?
Sewage-Line Failure
Officials said a joint in an ageing sewage line failed, causing soil erosion that led to the road collapse.
Metro Construction Role
Chennai Metro Rail Limited had not clarified whether underground Metro construction played any role; the articles do not establish a separate confirmed Metro-related cause.
Key facts
- People in car
- Two; both were reported unhurt.
- Estimated sinkhole depth
- About 10 feet.
- Reported pipe involved
- An ageing prestressed cement concrete sewage line, 2.2 metres wide and about 3 metres beneath the road.
- Reported mechanism
- Officials said a pipe joint is believed to have failed, triggering soil erosion beneath the road.
- Metro construction
- The incident occurred near an underground Metro construction site; Chennai Metro Rail Limited had not clarified whether the work played a role.
- Response
- Work began to remove the car and fill and repair the sinkhole; traffic was disrupted.
- Earlier nearby cave-in
- A similar incident near Thiruvanmiyur Junction in May 2025 reportedly injured five people after a sewage pipeline failed.
- India road deaths
- Government data cited in the articles recorded 2,385 pothole-related deaths and 1.77 lakh road deaths in 2024.
Sources
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