Four workers succumb, death toll rises to 8 in Greater Noida lift accident
A ninth person who was in the lift continues to be in a critical condition and is currently at the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Noida Sector 30 district hospital, police said
A day after a service lift malfunctioned and collapsed at the construction site of a high-rise building in Greater Noida West, four people who were left critical in the accident succumbed to their injuries on Saturday, raising the death toll to eight, officials said.
A ninth person who was in the lift continues to be in a critical condition and is currently at the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Noida Sector 30 district hospital, they said.
The accident occurred on Friday morning at the construction site of Amrapali Dream Valley Society (Phase-2) in Techzone-4, said police. The project is being constructed and developed by NBCC India, which had further hired a construction firm to complete the project that has approximately 9,000 flats.
According to Veer Malik, the project engineer, at around 8.30am, eight workers took the lift from the ground floor to go to the 20th floor of F-10 tower, along with one lift operator. However, when the lift reached the 14th floor, the lift got stuck and then went into a free fall.
All nine were rushed to the district hospital, where four — Ishtaq Ali, 23, Arun Tanti Mandal, 40, Vipot Mandal, 45, and Aris Khan, 22 — were declared dead on arrival, said police. On Saturday, four more workers — Arbaaz Ali, 19, Kuldeep Pal, 20, Maan Ali, 20, and Mohammad Ali Khan, 18, succumbed to their injuries, while Kaif, 21, identified by police only by his single name, remains on ventilator support.
“The fatalities are extremely unfortunate, and compensation will be ensured to their families. The one person who remains in the ICU is also critical, and doctors are trying their best to save him,” said Manish Verma, district magistrate (DM), Gautam Budh Nagar.
Separately, Gautam Budh Nagar police on Saturday arrested Devendra Singh alias Devendra Sharma, 48, an official from Girdhari Lal Construction, the firm that NBCC India had hired for the project, in connection with the case.
Police had earlier registered a first information report against nine people — two NBCC officials, three from the construction company, and two from the lift company, along with two site supervisors.
Deputy commissioner of police (central Noida) Suniti said during the investigation, it was found that Sharma was responsible for the maintenance of the tower where the lift accident occurred. “It was found that the service lift had not been repaired in a timely manner despite prior reports of malfunctioning raised by the daily wagers and it also continued to operate during rain, leading to the unfortunate incident,” the DCP said.
She added, “Sharma, who is the general manager of Girdhari Lal Construction hired by NBCC for the project, was taken into custody from his residence in Heritage Floor and Villas, Jalpura in Greater Noida. He has been produced before the magistrate and placed in judicial custody.”
The DCP also said that the construction company has been sealed by the police so that paperwork cannot be hampered with.
“Additionally, we have written to the Greater Noida authority to conduct a technical inspection of the Amrapali Dream Valley project to assess safety measures and protocols,” DCP Suniti said.
It was found during investigation that the lift malfunctioned because its safety device was not working, said officials. “When the workers took the lift, it was raining. As the lift got stuck on the 14th floor, its safety device got stuck as well, and malfunctioned. As it was not working, the lift had a free fall. The safety device also fell on top of the lift, causing grievous injuries to those inside,” said Anil Rajpoor, station house officer of Bisrakh Police Station.
Officials of the construction company could not be immediately contacted for their response.
However, an NBCC official, requesting not to be named, said, “The NBCC has launched an independent inquiry into the matter.”
While a compensation of ₹25 lakh was announced for each of the four deceased workers’ families on Friday by the NBCC and Supreme Court-appointed court receiver of Amrapali projects, district administration officials informed that the same compensation will be provided to the family members of those who died on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Greater Noida authority officials said that they are conducting inspections at 35 under-construction sites since yesterday to verify compliance with safety norms.
“Out of these, 13 sites were found to be flouting safety regulations. Contractors at these 13 sites have been instructed to ensure the adherence of safety norms, including harnesses, helmets for daily wagers and safety nets, and first aid kits. Once the authority officials are satisfied that the norms are being followed, the project will be de-sealed then,” said Amandeep Duli, additional CEO, Greater Noida Authority.
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