In the third instance of workers being killed at a construction site, 10 labourers were crushed to death after a retaining wall collapsed on their temporary shelters in Kashimira on Friday afternoon.
The incident occurred at around 2.30 pm at the construction site of Tanvi Eminence, a multi-storey residential complex of Tanvi Developers. The workers had taken a lunch break and had come to their shelters.
“While the workers were resting, the retaining wall gave way and fell on the sheds, thereby trapping them. A retaining wall needs support and as per the cross section of the wall, ideally the base of retaining wall is thicker than its upper portion, which was not so in this case,” said Sudhir Raut, deputy municipal commissioner of the Mira-Bhayander Municipal Corporation.
Kohinoor Ceramics owns the plot on which the mishap occurred and J. Kumar contractors are carrying out the foundation work.
“This project is coming up on 10,000 square metres, out of which the work is underway on 6,500 square metres. Work on columns for one building has already started. We have handed over the documents of the project to the police to assist them in their investigations,” Mr Raut said.
Eight of the 10 deceased have been identified, while the identities of the two others are yet be ascertained. Two labourers — Durgesh and Sadhu Singh — have been admitted in Orbit Hospital with serious injuries. Most of these workers were from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Nepal.
The Kashimira police has registered a case of negligence against Tanvi Builders and Kohinoor Ceramics. Project supervisor Mitesh Kumar Pandey has been arrested.