One labourer was killed and five others were injured after they fell from the fifth floor of an under-construction building in Chembur’s Subhash Nagar on Saturday afternoon. Later in the day, the police registered an FIR for not following the necessary safety precautions at the site.
According to officials, the accident was reported at 12.05 pm at Building No. 36 in Subhash Nagar. Six injured were rushed to Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar, where 55-year-old Ramallu was declared dead on arrival.
The other five injured were identified as Gunadhar Roy (22), Kush Roy (30), Ramesh Pratap Roy (25), Vijay Morya (35), and Sandip Gopal Roy (27).
Locals said that on the fifth floor, a temporary wooden plank had been placed over an open central portion of the slab. While labourers were at work, part of the plank gave way. Ramallu reportedly managed to cling to the remaining section for a few moments before it too collapsed.
Without safety harnesses or protective gear, he and others fell through the opening. As they plunged, loose construction material from above came crashing down. Ramallu was struck by falling debris and died from his injuries, while five others sustained varying degrees of trauma.
Outside the casualty ward of Rajawadi Hospital, Jaya Devi (45), also employed at the same construction site, sat anxiously. She came to Mumbai a year ago with her husband, three children, and brother-in-law to earn a living.
“We are from Jharkhand’s Dumka district, Gondiya village. I was working on the floor above along with other women workers. Around 11 am, we heard men working below screaming that people fell. We rushed downstairs. After some time, the ambulance and police came,” she recalled.
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She said she knows Kush Roy, who remains critical and has been transferred to Sion Hospital. “Kush is my neighbour in Gondiya. He came here three months ago to earn better and support his family — his wife, four daughters and parents. Back home he has ancestral agricultural land. Who knew this would happen? My brother-in-law has informed his family.”
Narendra Gaikwad, a resident of Khardev Nagar in Chembur and an autorickshaw driver, witnessed the incident while accompanying his wife to work. “I heard a loud noise and saw them falling. Six people fell down,” he said, gesturing towards the upper slab. “The plank collapsed and they came straight down. There were no safety measures at the site, no safety attendant either,” he said.
At Rajawadi Hospital, Dr Sunil Inamdar, medical officer, described the condition of the injured labourers as extremely serious. “All the patients have suffered polytrauma, which is multiple serious injuries affecting different parts of their body.”
Kush Roy has suffered multiple fractures in his legs, hands, and back, along with a mandibular fracture (broken jawbone) and severe internal bleeding in the stomach as he fell over some heavy object placed on the ground.
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He along with Vijay Morya (35) who sustained polytrauma — multiple serious injuries affecting different parts of the body — has been transferred to Sion Hospital, which has advanced tertiary care and trauma facilities. “The next 48 hours are critical for both men,” Dr. Inamdar said.
Gunadhar Roy (22) is admitted in the Medical Intensive Care Unit of Rajawadi Hospital with a brain haemorrhage, left calcaneus fracture (a break in the heel bone) and is on ventilator support; his survival depends on regaining consciousness, doctors said. Meanwhile, Ramesh Pratap Roy (25) has a blunt injury to his right leg and undisplaced second rib fracture and Sandip Gopal Roy (27) has right ankle fracture, diagnosed with tenth and eleventh rib fracture that is mildly displaced, undergoing CT scan. Both are stable but remain under observation in the trauma ward. Hospital authorities are still trying to contact their families.
Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde visited the accident site and later met the injured workers at Rajawadi Hospital. “When I visited the trauma ward, I tried to speak to one of the injured workers. He was in shock, but when I asked him why he went to work without safety gear, he replied, “We were not provided anything.” “I could not pressure him to speak more, but this clearly shows the irresponsibility of those in charge. Such negligence will not be tolerated,” she said. She said she asked the police to register an FIR in the matter.
Health update
At 9 PM, doctors reported that Gunadhar Roy showed no improvement in his condition, and the overall prognosis remains poor. He has sustained a head injury with bilateral fixed, dilated pupils and absence of brainstem reflexes, indicating severe neurological compromise. In addition, he has a fracture of the left calcaneus, for which a splint has been applied.
