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Sunday, Nov 11, 2007
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International - India & World

Accident in Dubai: three Indians held

Atul Aneja

DUBAI: Dubai authorities have arrested three Indians in connection with the death of seven workers on Thursday at a bridge under construction. The names of the three have not been disclosed.

A spokesman for the construction firm, Wade Adams Contracting Company, said on Friday that the three included an engineer. They are likely to face charges of manslaughter and negligence causing injuries to people.He clarified that the bridge had not collapsed, but an adjoining wall caved in after being hit by a crane carrying steel frames.

B.S. Mubarak, Consul (Labour) at the Indian consulate, said the bodies of the victims would be sent to India at the earliest.

Dubai police chief Dhahi Khalfan Tamim said that it was his “tentative assumption” that the crane driver had tried to lift a 1.5-tonne load of steel onto the bridge. The load, however, hit against the bridge columns causing it to collapse.

Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), said an expert committee was set up to ascertain the cause of the accident. The Gulf News quoted T. Rajanna, an injured worker, as saying that the accident occurred when a crane carrying heavy iron rods hit a portion of the bridge. Company officials said the families of the dead would get salary for 120 months as compensation.

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