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1 dead, 2 injured as roof of under-construction structure at Bhubaneswar airport collapses
Antaryami Guru, the helper of a truck engaged in transporting construction materials, was buried alive under tonnes of debris when the 10,000 square feet roof of the building at the Biju Patnaik International Airport caved in soon after it was cast.
One person was crushed to death and two others were injured when the roof of an under-construction building to link two terminals of the international airport in Odisha’s Bhubaneswar collapsed on Friday night.
Antaryami Guru, the helper of a truck engaged in transporting construction materials, was buried alive under tonnes of debris when the 10,000 square feet roof of the building at the Biju Patnaik International Airport caved in soon after it was cast.
“There were around 25 workers and all of them had come down from the roof soon after the roof was cast. The truck helper was standing under the roof and became the unfortunate victim,” said Bhubaneswar’s deputy commissioner of police Anup Sahoo.
Another worker Nabaghana Swain, who was injured in the accident, said he was about to leave the building when the roof caved in.
“We had no time to react. I got stuck under a staircase and was injured,” he said.
Rescue officials from National Disaster Response Force, Odisha Rapid Action Force and fire officials rushed to the site soon after the accident.
The Odisha State Disaster Management Authority’s managing director, Pradeep Jena, said all the workers trapped under the debris were rescued three hours after the collapse.
“There was one person who was trapped under the concrete and centring. We removed the wet concrete and rescued him and sent him to hospital,” said a Fire Services department official engaged in the rescue work
Jena said an inquiry will be set up to fix responsibility.
The airport’s director, Varun Venkateswar Rao, said flight services were not affected due to the accident as the building was a link one between the old and the new terminals.
“All domestic and international flights are running smoothly. A probe will be conducted into the mishap soon to ascertain why this has happened,” he said.
The owner and managing director of the company constructing the building, Dilip Construction, said the collapse happened due to carelessness of the labourers.
“All safety measures were taken and the workers were wearing all safety gears,” Dilip Khatoi said.
Khatoi was later detained by the police. Officials said he is likely to arrested soon.
The ruling Biju Janata Dal’s (BJD’s) spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sasmit Patra demanded adequate compensation for Guru’s family.
“There must be a thorough investigation and strict action against those responsible for this incident,” he said.
