One construction worker was crushed to death and three others were injured as a girder came down crashing at the Metro Rail site in St. Thomas Mount on Thursday.
This is the second fatal accident at a Metro Rail site in the city.
Dimple Shah (22) was caught under the launching girder — an iron structure used to place concrete piles between pillars along the elevated corridor — around 3.30 a.m. on Railway Station Road, on the stretch between stations coming up at Alandur and St. Thomas Mount.
The site is part of the elevated corridor of Chennai Metro Rail from St. Thomas Mount to Koyambedu, which is expected to become operational in early 2014.
Four arrested
St. Thomas Mount police, who registered a case under section 304 A (causing death by negligence) of the IPC, arrested site engineers Marudupandian and Sandeep Singh and safety officers Bineeth and Vimal.
Dimple Shah died on the spot after he sustained injuries on his face, chest and abdomen, St. Thomas Mount police said.
The three workers who were injured, Mumtaz Ansari, Nand Paswan and Samir Khan, are being treated in a city hospital.
According to S. Krishnamoorthy, chief general manager (public relations), Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), two labourers suffered grievous injuries, while one escaped with a minor injury.
“All three are out of danger now,” he said.
Accident in August
In August 2012, one worker died and six others were seriously injured following a crane boom failure near Pachaiyappa’s College.
On what caused the accident, Mr. Krishnamoorthy said: “From our initial observation, it appears that the lifting girder was in a state of unbalance, causing the launching girder to pitch forward and downwards.” The General Consultant engaged by CMRL will investigate further to ascertain the root cause, sources said.
Following the accident, police blocked vehicles from entering Railway Station Road.
Around 6 a.m., the spot beside Padavettamman temple was crowded with onlookers. “I woke up to a loud noise and rushed outside only to see a cloud of dust,” said A. Shanthi, a resident of Railway Station Road. Construction work at the site is being carried out by Larsen & Toubro (L&T), one of the contractors engaged by CMRL. The worker who died was a migrant labourer from Bihar, engaged by Shelmec, a sub-contractor.
Following post-mortem examination, which was at the Tambaram Taluk Government Hospital in Chromepet, his body was taken to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai and it will be flown to Bihar.
