PANJIM: It was a lucky escape for tourists standing near the Panjim church as a tree crashed on three parked cars on Saturday, while in another incident reported near INOX at Campal, a girl riding a two-wheeler was seriously injured after being hit by a truck driver who ignored warning signs from the traffic police.
In the first incident reported near the Panjim church, motorcycle pilots in the area said they had warned the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) to cut the tree branches since the area is frequented by tourists.
The cars parked in a pay-parking area that were damaged in the incident were owned by a Goan and tourists. When the tree crashed, the tourists standing nearby managed to escape from the site.
Fortunately, no one was hurt. However, the pilots questioned what would have happened if someone got injured, including them and criticised the authorities for not trimming the tree branches earlier.
However, the authorities who later came to the site said they had trimmed some branches while the remaining ones were to be cut soon.
There was a delay only because the branches were close to the wires.
In the second incident reported near INOX, Traffic Police were asking the incoming traffic to maintain safe distance from the area where the branches of trees were trimmed by the CCP staff. However, the truck driver ignored these instructions and was driving at high speeds and did not see the girl on the two-wheeler and rammed into her vehicle.
The traffic police said the rider sustained serious injuries and was being treated for her injuries. The vehicle was damaged in the accident. The traffic police said they are looking into the case.
