2 dead, 3 others injured as wall collapses on labourers working on Central Railway premises in Dombivli

At least 12 workers were working at the site by digging a pit to build the wall for Central Railway that was supposed to prevent encroachments in the railway premises; the adjacent wall that collapsed was privately owned, claimed the CR; two persons were dead and three suffered injuries in the incident

Two workers died and three others suffered injuries after a wall collapsed on them while they were working on constructing a wall for Central Railway (CR) at Siddharth Nagar near the old Kopar Bridge on Wednesday.

The site where two persons were dead and three others suffered injuries after a wall collapsed on them as they were working on constructing a wall at Central Railway premises in Dombivli on Wednesday. (PRAMOD TAMBE/HT PHOTO)

When the work was in progress, an adjoining eight-foot wall collapsed. Five labourers were stuck beneath the debris, two of whom died.

At least 12 workers were working at the site by digging a pit to build the wall for Central Railway that was supposed to prevent encroachments in the railway premises. The adjacent wall that collapsed was privately owned, claimed the CR.

Locals and Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) fire team rushed to the spot and initiated rescue operations. Two fire tenders with 15 firemen were rushed to the spot soon after the incident.

The two who died were identified as Bandu Kunwase, 30, and Mallesh Chavhan, 35.

“A total of five persons were stuck under the debris. Kunwase died on the spot while the others were taken to the Shastri Nagar hospital. Chavhan died in the hospital while undergoing treatment. Among the three injured, two are severe and were taken to the Sion Hospital for further treatment.

Those injured were Yuvraj Guttalwar, 35, Vinayak Chaudhari, 35, and Manik Pawar, 62.

The work of constructing a wall was being carried out in the railway premises. An old wall near the site collapsed on the workers. The wall that collapsed does not belong to KDMC,” said Swati Deshpande, deputy commissioner, KDMC.

Venkatesh Pawar, 37, supervisor for Shiva Enterprises that took up the work boundary wall work for CR, said, “Chavhan was a supervisor of the work. I was away from the site as I had work at another site in Mumbra. At around 4pm, I received a call about the wall collapse. I thought it must have been a minor incident and workers might have been injured. When I reached the spot, I saw Kunwase was dead on the spot as he was crushed under the debris while the others were taken to the hospital.

“Even when Chavhan was taken to the hospital, he spoke to me and asked about the other workers. He was worried about them. I told him I would go back to the site and check. When I returned to the site to check on others, I received a call about him passing away. He was a very reliable person and whenever I was away, he would take care of the work.”

Chavhan lived in Ghatkopar with his wife and two daughters.

“His wife also works at the site when he takes care of the children. They used to switch shifts and work,” said Pawar.

Pawar’s father Manik Pawar, 62, was also at the site and suffered leg fractures.

“My father also joined Chavhan in supervising the work while I was away. He also suffered injuries. The incident was a tragic one as the wall came down on them in a force all of a sudden,” added Pawar.

Shivaji Sutar, chief PRO for CR, said, “The work of the boundary wall to prevent encroachment in the railway premises was going on in Dombivli (W). The site is far away from the Dombivli station area. While doing the work, the private wall adjacent to the work site fell due to which the contractual labourers were stuck inside. All required assistance was provided at the site by the CR.”

Namdeo Chaudhari, chief fire officer of KDMC, said that primarily it is suspected that the digging work at the site for the compound wall must have weakened the old wall, leading to the collapse.

Soon after the wall collapsed, youngsters from the area rushed to the spot to help those trapped under the debris. A group of youngsters who were busy with the preparations for the Navratri festival rushed to the spot after they heard the wall collapse.

“Even though our team was there to rescue those feared trapped, a lot of young residents from the area also helped us. Their timely action helped in rescuing those injured out of the debris without delay,” said Chaudhari.