Three workers electrocuted near Ambernath; colleagues allege negligence

Three workers died of electrocution at a water purification plant in Thane. Police are investigating negligence claims against the contractor.

Thane : Three workers died due to electrocution when they were working in the MIDC water purification plant tank located between Ambernath and Kalyan Taluka Road on Thursday early morning. Fellow workers charge that the electrocution happened due to negligence on the part of the contractor undertaking the job.

The workers were on site at a water purification plant

Titwala police are investigating the matter and have registered an accidental death report. Shaligram Mandal (18), Rajan Mandal (19) and Gulshan Mandal (18) are the three dead.

Work was happening in the underground tank as part of a project to increase the capacity of the water purification plant – MIDC’s 12th water purification center located in the Jambhul zone, some 8 km from Ambernath city. The accident happened between 10 am and 10.30 am.

Six workers were in the accident scene. One of them, Pradip Kumar Mandal, said, “The three were asked to remove a motor from one of the tanks. The contractor should have ensured that all the electric connections had been removed and no live device was there. But, when the three entered the water, they suffered a severe shock due to electrocution and collapsed. The electrical connections were then switched off but it was probably too late by then. There was no vehicle available to take the casualties to the hospital quickly. We put the bodies on handcarts and brought them to the nearest hospital.”

The three dead were from Bihar and had come to the city a few months back for work. The police have taken all three bodies into their custody and sent them to the Government Central Hospital in Ulhasnagar for post-mortem. The bodies will be handed over to the families after post-mortem.

An investigation officer at Titwala police station said, “We have initially registered an accidental death report in the matter. We are still investigating and will surely book the culprit responsible for their death.”