One more labourer who sustained grave injuries in the Pottammal concrete slab crash died at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, on Friday. The deceased was identified as Ganeshan, 31.
With this, the death toll in the accident has increased to three. Tamil Nadu natives G. Karthik, 23, and Saleem Khan, 26, were the first two victims who succumbed to their injuries on the spot on September 26.
At the time of the incident, there were eight migrant labourers at the site. Four of them, including Ganeshan, had suffered serious injuries. The incident took place when the prefabricated slabs were being fixed using a crane.
Police sources said an investigation was under way to check whether the private company that assigned the labourers had arranged the required safety measures at the worksite. Action would be taken after reviewing the other field-level investigation reports by other departments, they said.
After the incident, Labour Department officials visited the spot and asked the builders to relocate all 22 migrant workers from the site. They also submitted a preliminary report to the Labour Commissioner explaining the situation that led to the accident.
District Labour Officer (Enforcement) V.P. Sivaraman, who submitted the report, said there were some serious safety violations at the site. “Citing the same, we had served them a notice. The site has been temporarily closed based on the findings and the follow-up action by the Corporation authorities,” he said.
According to Mr. Sivaraman, the workers who lost their lives were covered under various insurance schemes and their families would be able to get the eligible compensation. “We are actively following up the case. Our officials were there at the Medical College Hospital on Friday as well to check the condition of the other injured workers,” he said.
