For the second time in less than six months, a retaining wall on a construction site collapsed, causing a scare among workers and damaging construction equipment on Sunday in Derebail here. Fortunately, unlike the incident on November 20, when the mudslide killed a worker and injured five others in the same construction site, the incident on Sunday resulted in no loss of life.
“We’re just lucky this happened on a Sunday. Only around 15 workers were on the site at the time, where as at least 60 workers are present on weekdays,” said Babul, a construction worker from Orissa. Essel Heights, being constructed opposite Derebail Church by K2K Constructions, abuts a hill (on top of which the A.J. Shetty Hospital sits). Workers said an iron mesh had been constructed along the carved out hill and had been filled with concrete recently. However, around 10.30 a.m., the wall and large portions of the mud behind it collapsed. “We heard a cracking sound, and saw a crack extend from the bottom of the hill to the top. We started running away, and in a matter of seconds, the mound collapsed,” said a construction worker.
Supervisors at the site blamed the dampness of the mud – as the concrete on the wall was still being cured – for the slide.
