A 45-year-old mechanic was crushed under a loaded truck after the jack holding it up gave way.

The mishap took place near the BT Road-Paikpara Road crossing on Friday morning.

The truck, which was transporting spices, pulled up around 10.30am with a flat tyre and a crack in the rear differential rod.

The driver went to a garage on Lockgate Road for help. Lalan Sharma was sent to fix the vehicle.

Sharma returned to the garage after inspecting the truck to get his own tools.

He used the jack to lift the vehicle and slid under it to repair the differential rod.

As the jack gave way, the vehicle overturned, trapping the mechanic under it.

He had bled profusely by the time bystanders extricated him.

Sharma, who hailed from Bihar, died later in the intensive care unit of RG Kar Hospital.

The driver and the help of the truck are absconding. Police are looking for the owner of the vehicle.

“There would have been more casualties if people were standing around the truck when it overturned. The vehicle has been impounded and the body sent for post-mortem,” said a senior officer of Chitpur police station.