One labourer died and another sustained grievous injuries after mud and a plywood board skid and fell on them at an under-construction building in Laljipada, Kandivali (West), on Sunday afternoon.
According to the police, the two contract labourers were working at the site to fix an iron net on the underground water tank. An FIR has been registered against the contractor and others involved in the project.
“They had excavated mud and were trying to concretise the water tank by installing iron nets, when the mud came down on them,” Nitin Pondkule, senior police inspector, Kandivali police station, said.
Both were rushed to Oscar Hospital, where Ramesh Ming (18) was declared brought dead. His body was sent to Bhagwati post-mortem centre in Borivali.
The other labourer, Sumit Lakda (28), has been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), where the doctors said he was stable. “He has sustained injuries to his head, hands and chest. There is also bleeding from his ears. However, his condition is stable. He may be shifted out of the ICU in another day or two,” Dr. Kalpesh Yadav, senior physician, Oscar Hospital, said.
Both labourers had been living in the city for the past four years, with their families. Ming, a native of West Bengal, is survived by his wife and children. Mr. Lakda is from Jharkhand.
“We had been working on the tank since April 4. On Sunday, we had just started fixing the plywood board, when the mud and the board fell on us. When I opened my eyes, I was in the hospital,” Mr. Lakda told The Hindu .
A sub-contractor, requesting anonymity, said there were five to six other labourers on the site at the time of the incident, but the plywood board fell only on the two. “We were working on constructing a wall for the underground water tank. They had assembled the plywood and were finishing the casting work. Suddenly, the mud and the plywood board fell on the two,” he said.
The police have booked the contractor and other individuals involved in the project under Sections 304 (A) (causing death by negligence) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code. “We have registered an FIR against the contractor, builder and other individuals involved in the project, for death to due negligence. Others associated with the project, who are responsible for not taking any safety precautions for the labourers, will also be booked as our inquiry proceeds,” Mr. Pondkule said.
