2 killed, 3 rescued after wall collapses in Turbhe quarry

A boundary wall at a quarry in Turbhe collapsed on an adjoining concrete house, killing two workers and injuring four others on Sunday, following heavy rain. G Mohiuddin Jeddy reports.

A boundary wall at a quarry in Turbhe collapsed on an adjoining concrete house, killing two workers and injuring four others on Sunday, following heavy rain.

HT Image

After a five-hour operation, the fire department personnel of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) rescued the three quarry workers trapped in the rubble.

The L-shaped wall constructed to store materials procured from the quarry collapsed around 12.15 pm at Amrut Seth quarry in Indiran Nagar. A quarry worker, Arvind Kamble, 30, was standing outside the house and escaped with minor injuries.

The deceased have been identified as Arun Das, 40, and Dinesh Das, 42. The injured who were pulled out from the debris include Jogesh Chowdhury, 40, Naresh Das, 45, and Phulan Das, 22. “The injured workers have been admitted to the civic hospital in Turbhe,” said Suresh Bhosale, senior inspector, Turbhe MIDC police station.

The police said Arun and Dinesh were dead by the time they were pulled out late in the evening.

The NMMC’s disaster management team took a while to reach the spot, after which it established voice contact with the trapped workers.

Jagannath Sinnarkar, deputy municipal commissioner in charge of disaster management, said: “Prima facie, it appears that water percolation in the area weakened the structure and led to the collapse. We will conduct an inquiry into the incident.”

The police have registered a case of accidental death and will investigate if anyone is responsible for the mishap.