Ghaziabad: Drilling machine falls at metro site, no one injured

The machine fell down at a Delhi metro construction site at Arthala in Ghaziabad early Tuesday morning

In an incident that could have led to a major mishap, a big drilling machine allegedly fell down at a Delhi metro construction site at Arthala in Ghaziabad early Tuesday morning.

The machine was being used at the construction site of the 9.41-km Dilshad Garden to New Bus Stand Metro link. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

The machine was being used at the construction site of the 9.41-km Dilshad Garden to New Bus Stand metro link.

According to Ghaziabad traffic police officials, the incident took place around 2 am on Tuesday. The machine collapsed and fell in the metro construction site enclosure, they said.

“No loss of life or injury to any worker was caused, as the machine had collapsed inside the 9-metre site where the metro construction work was going on. Had the machine fallen on Grand Trunk (GT) Road (along the construction site), it would have resulted in a major accident,” said Anil Kumar, traffic inspector with the Ghaziabad police.

A Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) spokesperson said that the machine “became unstable” and was removed from the site later. Officials of the Ghaziabad development authority, however, denied having any knowledge about the incident till Tuesday afternoon.

The incident took place along GT Road, some distance from the busy Mohan Nagar intersection. The road caters to a large number of commuters travelling from Delhi towards Meerut, Hapur and Aligarh.

For the ongoing work, the DMRC has barricaded the construction site which is located in the middle of GT Road.

“Some pile-foundation work had to be completed. But the heavy crane went unstable and the drilling machine fell down. The machine was being used for deep boring. There was no loss of life and no one was injured in the incident. We also deployed our four workers to manage traffic movement,” said a Delhi Metro Rail Corporation official.

The DMRC is constructing the 9.41-km elevated line which will have eight stations in Ghaziabad.