Car lift platform crashes down from 23rd floor, crushes worker

According to the police, the incident occurred in rear side of the 23-storey Siddhivinayak building, constructed under a slum rehabilitation scheme, close to Vikhroli (West) railway station. A car parking lot was being constructed for the sale component of the scheme

Mumbai: A 19-year-old worker was crushed to death after a 10-ton car parking lift platform crashed down on him from the 23rd floor in Vikhroli West on Wednesday.

Mumbai, India - January 04, 2023: One person dead after a car parking lift collapses at Siddhivinayak Society, Vikhroli (West), in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, January 04, 2023. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

Police officials said the deceased, Shivkumar Mewalal Jaiswal, was working on the ground floor and fitting aluminium sheet to cover the car parking space when the lift platform crashed down crushing him.

According to the police, the incident occurred in rear side of the 23-storey Siddhivinayak building, constructed under a slum rehabilitation scheme, close to Vikhroli (West) railway station. A car parking lot was being constructed for the sale component of the scheme, and the lift was being installed in the vertical parking lot.

Police officials said the incident occurred around 1:40 pm when three labourers were installing the vehicle lift on the 23rd floor and Jaiswal was working on the ground floor.

During their lunch break, the three workers on the 23rd floor came down to the ground floor and that’s when they heard a loud crashing sound. They rushed to the lift shaft where they noticed that the heavy lift platform had come crashing down. On not finding Jaiswal around, they realised that he might have been trapped under the platform, said a police officer.

The police and the fire brigade were then informed. The personnel of the latter reached the spot and it took them about an hour and a half to move the heavy platform aside and remove injured Jaiswal from the shaft.

Mumbai Fire Brigade chief Sanjay Manjrekar said, “It was a car parking lift in an under construction building that collapsed. The pallet of the lift had collapsed. The pallets had to be removed to rescue the person, who was trapped beneath it. It took us nearly one and half hours to complete the rescue.”

Police inspector Vinayak Mer said, “We reached the spot soon after getting the information and sent Jaiswal’s body to Rajawadi hospital.

“Jaiswal was staying in Mumbra, with other workers, and his parents are in his native place in Uttar Pradesh. His family members have been informed about the incident, said Mer,

The Park Site police have also registered a case under section 304 (A) (Whoever causes the death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide), 34 (common intention) against project head Amit Kumar, Eyestone Parking Company’s Sunil Tiwari and Gayatri Aluminum Company’s Rakesh alias Umesh Singh.

Investigation is going on and if we find involvement of any other person in this case, we will take appropriate legal action, he said.

A Resident of Siddhivinayak cooperative society, 50-year-old Satish Soni said that there are more than 200 flats in the building, with 11 flats on each floor. He said the occupants shifted to the SRA building two years ago after the rehab component of the project was complete.

Talking about the fatal incident, Soni said, “The parking lift is being constructed at the sale component of the project from where, at around 1.40 pm, we heard a loud noise and rushed there.”

A security guard at the site, deployed by the builder, refused to speak on the matter and claimed he was only aware that one supervisor and three labourers were working at that time and that one person died in the incident.