Scrapped Boeing stuck under a Bengal over-bridge in dense fog
The aircraft once operated by the Indian Airlines and later by India Post before being grounded in 2014 was kept near the Air India hangar at the international airport in Kolkata since then.
A decommissioned Boeing-737 without wings got stuck under an over-bridge on NH-2 near Durgapur Steel Plant in Bengal’s West Burdwan district in the early hours of Tuesday while on the way to a scrapyard in Bihar, creating a spectacle for the locals, who clicked selfies and photos.
The incident fortunately did not trigger heavy traffic snarls and was resolved after the tyres of the trailer carrying the plane were removed to lower its height enabling its passage. No one was injured in the incident.
The police officers who visited the spot said dense fog in the morning made the driver misjudge the height of the over-bridge.
The aircraft once operated by the Indian Airlines and later by India Post before being grounded in 2014 was kept near the Air India hangar at the international airport in Kolkata since then.
Deputy commissioner (east) of Asansol-Durgapur police Abhishek Gupta said the officials of the National Highway Authority of India were informed about the incident.
“There was no traffic jam. The plane is now in custody of the police,” said Gupta.
Earlier on Saturday, another decommissioned Boeing, which was being taken to a scrapyard from the airport, left people on Kolkata’s Jessore road in awe.
Nearly a dozen old planes are still waiting at the NSCBI airport in Kolkata to be scrapped.