Hyderabad: Five migrant labourers from West Bengal and Jharkhand died on Thursday, and another person was injured after falling from the 10th floor of an under-construction building of the state government’s prestigious double-bedroom housing project for the poor.
The project was being executed by DEC Infrastructure in Keesara police station limits. Some 52 buildings and total 6,240 flats are being built behind the Infosys campus in Pocharam.
The deceased persons have been identified as Subal Rai, 33, Saiful Haq, 21, Abhijit Rai, 19, Milan Shaik, 20, natives of West Bengal, and Yash Kumar Chowdary, 20, of Bihar. The injured labourer was identified as Biblav Rai.
According to Keesara police, the incident took place at about 11.30 am on Thursday when the workers were standing on the scaffolding of the 12th tower (Block 12) and de-shuttering an iron sheet with the help of a crane. The scaffolding gave way and all six persons standing on the temporary structure fell to the ground.
Labourers and contractors present pulled out the victims from the debris. Three persons died on the spot with multiple fractures and injuries to the head. Two others died while being shifted to a hospital in a pick-up van which was available on the premises.
“The incident is said to have happened when the crane that was lifting the iron sheet lost balance and jerked, causing an imbalance of the scaffolding. The tie-rods of the scaffolding broke and it fell down. It could be a result of coordination failure between the signalling person and the crane driver,” said deputy executive engineer of GHMC K. Dharma Reddy, who is supervising the project.
The DEE said the construction is based on shared-wall technology, which is earthquake resistant. About 1,600 persons, mostly migrant labourers, are working on the construction site.
