Road cave-in cited as reason for crane accident

Crane operator’s kin to get ₹13 lakh compensation

Work hazard: Efforts on to clear the crane that crashed while trying to lift a beam of an under-construction flyover near Shaikpet in the city on Tuesday.

The GHMC has ascertained road cave-in as the reason for crane accident that killed one person near Shaikpet flyover on Tuesday.

Through a statement released after the accident, the corporation said that the road on the right side of the crane caved in as heavy weights (up to 800 tonnes) were being lifted as part of the work.

Owing to the resultant imbalance, the crane suddenly rose at a right angle, spurring the fear-struck operator to jump out of his cabin. The girders that are used to balance the crane came down right after, killing him on the spot, the engineers explained to Commissioner M. Dana Kishore during his visit to the site.

The crane operator, Gurpreet Singh, would get a compensation of ₹13 lakh, of which ₹2 lakh would be released by Mayor Bonthu Ram Mohan from his funds.

The contractor has agreed to pay ₹5 lakh and the family would get ₹6 lakh by way of workers’ insurance, a press release from the GHMC informed.

The flyover has been under construction as part of the Strategic Road Development Plan (SRDP) for signal-free traffic flow, envisaged by the Telangana government, and implemented by the GHMC.

Mr. Dana Kishore asked officials to exercise caution while removing the crane, as a huge water pipeline and electricity transformer exist right beside the road that has caved in.