GURUGRAM: Four labourers standing on a platform slipped and fell 17 floors to their death at a housing site in Sector 77 on Tuesday evening. A fifth survived the fall and is battling grievous injuries in the emergency ward of a private hospital. The accident occurred inside the compound of Emaar Palm Hills – where a 25-storey tower is being built – around 4.30pm. Sources at the site said the five workers were fixing a tower crane on the 17th floor of the building when one of them slipped. As he slipped, all others lost balance and fell off the plank. The four labourers who died have been identified as Touheed (27), Kamod (32), Naveen (28) and Kameshwar (35), all from Bihar’s Kishanganj. They were rushed to the Civil Hospital, but were declared dead on arrival. There were allegations that none of the five labourers were wearing safety belts. Suresh Kumar, the ACP (Manesar), said police had initiated an inquiry against the private contractor carrying out the construction work following the allegations of negligence. Although there was a safety net attached to pillars of the 12th floor, it gave away under the weight of the five labourers who fell on it. One of them somehow got entangled in the net, which slowed down his fall. “The injured labourer is undergoing treatment at the hospital. An autopsy would be conducted on the bodies of the four others on Wednesday morning. They would be handed to the families after that,” said Kumar. The building where the labourers were working is 25-storey tall. “We were told that since a major part of the construction work was over, most of the labourers had left the site and only a few were there. We have carried out an inspection at the site. The duty magistrate and other teams will also visit the site and investigate the matter from their side. An FIR will be registered soon and legal action taken against those found guilty,” Kumar said. District town planner Amit Madholia, who visited the site with his team, said there was negligence on the part of the contractor. “The workers were not provided with safety harness belts. They could have been saved otherwise. An investigation is on and action will be taken accordingly,” he added. Raj Kishor (30), who survived the fall, is undergoing treatment at Uma Sanjeevni hospital in DLF phase 2. Doctors said he had multiple abrasions and had fractured one of his arms. Some of the other labourers working at the site told TOI they had no inkling about the accident till much later. “I was on the terrace of the same building and I had no idea what had happened. It was around 5pm when my uncle called and informed me about the accident. I later learnt that five labourers had been taken to the hospital in an ambulance stationed at the site,” said Sajid, a labourer. Touheed’s uncle Rashid, who reached the site after being informed about the accident, said his nephew had been a construction worker in the city since 2011. “On July 21, we had a wonderful time over cups of tea. We were talking about his three kids. The builder and the contractor are responsible for these four deaths. We demand that the families be adequately compensated. If they aren’t, we will protest at the site with their bodies,” he added. Emaar said it had launched an internal inquiry. “We deeply regret the unfortunate and tragic incident and empathise with the victims. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the deceased. The tragic accident took place during the construction closeout work by the contractor in a completed tower of Palm Heights. We are further investigating the unfortunate incident along with our contractor to understand the cause of this incident,” a spokesperson for Emaar said.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/4-workers-fall-17-floors-to-their-death-at-housing-site-in-gurugram/articleshow/93309240.cms
