Vidyasagar Setu: A 10-wheeler rammed into five vehicles caught in a snarl on the Calcutta-bound flank of Vidyasagar Setu around 6am on Sunday.

The container truck hit four cars and a light goods vehicles, which swerved 90 degrees under the impact and smashed into the rear of another lorry. The container truck could not roll down the slope further because the light goods vehicle blocked its way after turning at right angle.

The occupants of the vehicles escaped with minor injuries, police said.

Prabir Mistry, who was at the wheel of the light truck, said the driver's cabin of the 10-wheeler was empty when it rammed into his vehicle, suggesting that the driver and the helper had by then jumped and fled.

"The driver could not be traced till Sunday evening," an officer of Hastings police station said. The driver has been booked under IPC sections 279 (rash and negligent driving) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others).

The container truck will be subjected to a mechanical test to find out whether a brake failure had triggered the series of accidents.

Three of the cars hit by the giant truck were commercial vehicles. At least one of them was an app cab.

Witnesses said the 10-wheeler rolled down the slope of the bridge and kept hitting one vehicle after another, all of which swung right or left, making space for the truck to move ahead.

The vehicles were all stuck in a snarl-up triggered by repairs on the bridge.

"I was on my way to New Market after dropping a friend at Santragachhi station when I suddenly felt a strong jerk.... The container truck had just hit my car and was moving ahead, crashing into the cars ahead of mine," recounted businessman L. Ahmed.

Accidents on Vidyasagar Setu are a regular occurrence. On June 28, a container truck approaching the Setu toll plaza from Calcutta had ploughed into a Tata Ace, two cars and as many scooters, leaving at least five people injured, three of them nursery students.

The police blame overloading of trailers and trucks for the frequent smash-ups.