A Chennai sinkhole opened on Rajiv Gandhi Salai near Tidel Park on Thursday morning, causing an SUV to plunge into the road and disrupting traffic on the city’s busy IT Corridor. Two occupants escaped the vehicle, while Chennai Metro Rail Limited acknowledged that tunnelling work near the site had caused the road to cave in.
The incident occurred at around 10.50 a.m. as the SUV travelled from Adyar towards Taramani. According to the police, the 27-year-old driver, Praveen, sustained minor injuries, while a 52-year-old woman was also in the vehicle. Both occupants got out after the front portion of the car began sinking, before the vehicle rolled over into the widening pit.
Praveen said the car was moving slowly with traffic towards the Tidel Park signal when its front wheel entered what initially appeared to be a small pothole. The opening widened within moments, he said, and the pit became deep enough to engulf the vehicle. Traffic police personnel and motorists helped the occupants reach safety.
The affected stretch was immediately cordoned off and traffic was diverted. Vehicular movement was affected on Rajiv Gandhi Salai and adjoining roads, adding pressure to a major route serving Chennai’s technology and business districts. Contractors working for Chennai Metro Rail Limited helped pull the car out using a crane.
The Tamil Nadu Road Development Company and Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board conducted a joint inspection, according to sources cited by The Hindu. They found no leak in the water main at the location and reported that there had been no fall in water pressure. The sources attributed the disturbance to soil layers affected by tunnelling activity below the road.
CMRL said the sinkhole had surfaced opposite the Elnet Building, near the Bhavani Tunnel Boring Machine, which was tunnelling for Corridor 3 of Phase II between Thiruvanmiyur and Taramani. The location was approximately 30 metres from the Thiruvanmiyur shaft. CMRL said a loss of face-support pressure in the tunnel-boring machine may have contributed to the cave-in and that a technical inquiry was under way.
The agency said safety and site-protection measures were being implemented. Cement concrete was being poured into the cavity after the vehicle was removed. Once the concrete settles, a steel sheet will be placed over the affected section before vehicles are permitted to pass, an official said. CMRL also said the vehicle owner would be compensated for the damage caused by the incident.
The cave-in is the second such incident reported on this stretch in recent years. In May 2025, a call taxi carrying five passengers fell into a similar pit that developed after the road caved in. The ongoing technical inquiry is expected to establish the conditions that led to Thursday’s failure and the safety measures required before the road is reopened.
