Contractors booked over lift crash in Thane; injured labourer succumbs, taking toll to 7

Senior inspector of Kapurbawdi police station, Uttam Sonawane, said, “We have registered an FIR based on the statement given by the labourers. After further probe, we will decide on action. So far no arrests have been made in the case. A total of seven persons have died.”

Seven labourers who were carrying out waterproofing work in an under-construction building in Balkum area of Thane were killed and another person was injured after a lift crashed down from the 13th floor of the 40-storey building on Sunday.

An officer said that based on the statement of one of the brothers of the deceased, no safety devices were provided to the labourers. “Further, the lift had not been in a proper working condition for three months. As per the complaint, it was frequently being repaired and used. Even on the day of the accident, it was stopping frequently and making a lot of noise. But nothing was done. Hence, we have named the lift contractor and labour contractor as of now,” the officer said.

However, after the incident on Sunday, Dhruva Woollen Mills Pvt Ltd, a Runwal Group company, which is carrying out the project, had stated, “The said elevator had been under continuous surveillance and is serviced under an existing annual maintenance contract. The last proactive maintenance was done on August 23 when due oiling, servicing, lift room check-up, brake settings, car liner checking and up-on limit switch checking were satisfactorily done by the vendor.”

An officer of the local police station said, “Depending on the roles that emerge, more names will be added in the FIR. The investigation is in an initial stage.”

According to officials of Thane Municipal Corporation’s disaster cell, the incident took place when the elevator shaft broke while the labourers were coming down after work. The lift collapsed to the basement of the underground parking lot, they said.