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2 workers fall to death from gantry crane at site for coastal road

Mumbai Coastal Road accident leaves two workers dead after gantry crane platform collapse at Bhayander site; BMC orders probe and safety audit.

Mumbai Coastal Road accident: Two workers died after falling from a gantry crane platform at a BMC casting yard in Bhayander, prompting a safety audit and work suspension.Mumbai Coastal Road accident: Two workers died after falling from a gantry crane platform at a BMC casting yard in Bhayander, prompting a safety audit and work suspension. (Representative Image)

In the second mishap within a week at an infrastructure project site of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), two workers lost their lives after falling from an industrial gantry crane at a casting yard site for the Mumbai Coastal Road Project (Phase 2) in Mira Bhayander area.

A casting yard is an industrial facility where concrete segments like pillars, boulders and piers are constructed for an infrastructure project.

Saturday’s incident took place days after a police constable lost his life when a portion of a construction rig fell on him at a flyover construction site on Sion-Panvel highway in Mumbai’s eastern suburbs. Before that, on February 14, a slab of the parapet wall on the viaduct of a Metro line in Mulund fell atop a rickshaw and a car, killing one and injuring three. The latest incident in a series of such mishaps exposes a pattern of safety negligence at sites of government authorities such as the BMC and MMRDA.

Bhayander police station senior inspector Jitendra Kamble said that a platform attached to the crane where the labourers were working collapsed around 1 pm in Bhayander (West), severely injuring Raghunath Das (38) and Kanha Singh (45). They were rushed to hospital where they were declared dead.

The BMC has initiated a safety audit of all casting yards and construction sites of the Coastal Road project.

According to BMC, the two victims were responsible for assembling the gantry crane, a tall structure with A-shaped legs on both sides supporting a horizontal beam at the top. These cranes are used for lifting heavy concrete segments for bridges and moving large machinery and materials.

The two workers had climbed on to a platform 35-feet above the ground for carrying out routine inspections. A civic official said suddenly the platform collapsed, and they fell on the ground. Officials said the workers were wearing safety belts.

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“The gantry crane was still not in operation as it was still being assembled. The workers were wearing safety belts when the mishap happened,” an official told The Indian Express.

The two workers were rushed to Temba Hospital where they were declared dead. While Singh was from Jalandhar, Das was from Kalyanpur in Odissa.

The coastal road is one of BMC’s ambitious infrastructure projects pegged at a cost of Rs 30,000 crore. The 30-km-long high-speed corridor is set to connect Versova in the western suburbs of Mumbai with Bhayander in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

Work stopped, safety audit ordered

Following the incident, the civic administration has ordered an inquiry along with two independent safety audits. Civic officials said the contractor will pay compensation to the two workers.

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Speaking to The Indian Express, Abhijit Bangar, additional municipal commissioner (projects), said the BMC has appointed Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute to carry out a safety audit at the project site.

“A delegation of structural engineers will carry out a safety audit at the place of incident tomorrow (Sunday) and on Monday. Following which they will submit a report and it is on its basis the extent of penalty will be decided and levied. For the time being all work on this site has been put on hold,” Bangar said.

Pratip Acharya is a seasoned journalist based in Mumbai reporting for The Indian Express. With a career spanning over a decade, his work demonstrates strong Expertise and Authority in critical urban issues, civic affairs, and electoral politics across Eastern and Western India. Expertise & Authority Current Role: Journalist, The Indian Express (IE), reporting from Mumbai. Core Authority: Pratip's reporting focuses sharply on local democracy and development, specializing in: Urban Governance and Civic Affairs: Providing in-depth analysis of municipal decision-making, city planning, and local infrastructure, essential for informed urban reporting. City Politics and Environment: Covering the political dynamics of Mumbai and surrounding areas, alongside critical environmental challenges impacting the metro region. Electoral Coverage (High-Stakes Experience): He has extensive experience in high-stakes political reporting, having covered major elections, establishing his Trustworthiness in political analysis: National: Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and 2019. State: West Bengal Assembly elections in 2016 and Maharashtra Assembly elections in 2019. Major Assignments (Ground Reporting): Pratip demonstrated commitment during crises by conducting ground reporting throughout the Covid-19 pandemic since its breakout in 2020, offering first-hand accounts and analysis of the public health crisis. Experience Extensive Experience: Starting his career in 2014, Pratip has built his foundation across multiple prominent English dailies: Started at The Times of India in Kolkata (2014). Relocated to Mumbai (2016) and worked with The Free Press Journal and Hindustan Times before joining The Indian Express. Pratip Acharya's diverse experience across major publications, coupled with his specialized focus on the intricate details of urban governance and a track record of covering major electoral and health crises, establishes him as a trusted and authoritative source for news from India's critical metropolitan centres. ... Read More

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