Truck falls into river; Driver survives 40-foot fall, clings to tyre for hours

In a scene straight out of an action movie, a truck driver in Jharkhand's Giridih district miraculously survived after his vehicle plunged 40 feet into a swollen river late Tuesday night. The dramatic incident, captured on video and now viral on social media, shows Akil Nawaz Khan, the driver, clinging to a tyre of his partially submerged truck for nearly four hours amidst strong currents before being rescued.

The accident occurred when Khan, a resident of Koderma and driving a tanker loaded with pipes from Godda district, lost control of his vehicle. The truck broke through the bridge's safety railing and plummeted into the river. Despite the terrifying fall and the vehicle being partially submerged, Akil Nawaz Khan, with quick thinking, managed to escape the driver's seat and climb onto one of the truck's tyres. He then began shouting for help into the dark night.

His desperate cries were eventually heard by a man on the riverbank. In the darkness, both men used their torches to signal each other, establishing contact. Around 2 am, the man on the bank alerted the police, initiating a challenging rescue operation. A senior police officer noted the difficulty of the rescue due to the river's strong currents. After two hours of initial attempts, lifeguards were called to the scene. Akil Nawaz Khan was finally pulled to safety after his extended ordeal in the water. He later told reporters that the truck's tyre slipped on the wet road due to the ongoing monsoon rains. He sustained only minor injuries and is reported to be safe.