Two window cleaners die as lift crashes down from 17th floor

Two workers, cleaning glass windows of a 19-storied building in Worli, died after the hydraulic lift trolley, which they had boarded, crashed down from the 17-floor, late in the afternoon on Monday

Mumbai: Two workers, cleaning glass windows of a 19-storied building in Worli, died after the hydraulic lift trolley, which they had boarded, crashed down from the 17-floor, late in the afternoon on Monday.

Mumbai, India - January 09, 2023: Two glass window cleaners die after a hydraulic lift trolley plunged from the 15-storied under-construction Avighna House building around 4:30pm in the evening, at Worli, in Mumbai, India, on Monday, January 09, 2023. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times) (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT PHOTO)

The Worli police have registered an accidental death report (ADR) on the incident. They said when the accident happened, Noor Alam, 35, a resident of Bhandup, and Jaleel Ahmed, 24, a resident of Bihar, along with lift operator Sohail Khan, were cleaning the window panes of the yet-to-be-occupied commercial building — Avighna House at BG Kher Road, Worli Naka.

A senior police inspector Anil Koli said, “While the duo was cleaning the window panes, the attachment of the lift, to the building, broke and the whole contraption, along with the two workers and its motor, came crashing down.”

When whole contraption crashed down, the locals heard the loud noise and rushed to the spot. A few branches of a nearby tree were also found broken due to the impact.

“The two window cleaners were immediately pulled out of the lift and taken to the BYL Nair hospital, where they were declared brought dead by the hospital authorities,” said Koli.

A senior official said the window cleaners had fastened their safety belts to the lifts instead of attaching them to the rope overhead. If they had done so, they could have freed themselves from the crashing lift and its attachment.

A local resident, Ramesh Lokhande said he was relieved that no children were present on the footpath when the lift crashed down. He said, “Children usually play cricket on this very footpath. Luckily, nobody was playing or walking on the footpath, when the lift crashed down.”

Alam’s elder brother Noor Mohammed said, “We are four brothers and Alam was the second. He was married with three daughters and one son. We all stay in Bhandup and are from Mau district in Uttar Pradesh.”

The police said the work of cleaning the glass panes was given to a sub-contractor and they had asked for all the papers.

Managing director of the Avighna Group, Nishant Agarwal said, “This is an extremely unfortunate accident. The safety test of the building management system was done just three weeks ago by an independent external agency and its fitness was duly certified.

“In fact, not only is the operating of the system being done by a reputed external agency, but also the facility management of the building is being handled by a reputed international agency, that directly oversees all functions in the building through its team of professionals. We ourselves are ascertaining details of the incident.”