National Disaster Response Force personnel inspect the site where a mound of earth caved in near AIIMS in New Delhi on Wednesday. (Photo: PTI)
Two labourers died and three others were injured when an under-construction parking lot at the new AIIMS mother-cum-child OPD block, opposite the Centre for Dental Education and Research at Masjid Moth, caved in around 12.30 pm on Wednesday.
The deceased have been identified as Aslam (30) and Vinod (35), both natives of Bihar. The injured labourers have been identified as Vijay (26) and Naseeb (35) from Bihar and Ranjeet (42), from Murshidabad in West Bengal.
A police source told this newspaper that the collapse was a matter of gross negligence on the part of the contractor as there were lots of water reservoirs close to the construction site. Water used to continuously overflow from the tanks and flood many parts of the site due to which the ground became soft and resulted in the cave-in.
The source said that after visiting the site, the police team had noticed some spots which were flooded with water and could lead to more accidents. “The ground at the spot was dug 50 feet deep for construction of a three-level parking lot, but what caused the accident was overflowing water tanks near the under construction parking lot. The water completely loosened the ground and resulted in the cave-in,” the source said.
The labour incharge of the project, who refused to give his identity, said: “I don’t know how the accident took place, but the matter is being looked into.”
Naseeb, one of the injured, who was able to speak, said that he knew about the flooded spots and the overflowing water tanks, but as he was just a worker there, he was not aware that such an accident would take place. “I am just a labourer there. I was aware of the water deposit at the site but never knew it would lead to this,” said Naseeb, who has his family in Bihar.
The injured men were initially admitted to Safdarjung Hospital from where they were shifted to the AIIMS Jai Prakash Narayan Trauma Centre. The AIIMS director, Prof. M.C. Misra, visited the site along with senior officials and met the officials of the Delhi police, National Disaster Relief Fund, Delhi Fire Service and engineers, who were in large numbers at the site to evacuate the labourers.
A senior police official said the matter is being investigated from all possible angles and a case under Sections 288, 337 and 304A has been registered at the Hauz Khas police station against the contractor, Ahluwalia Contracts Ltd.
