Thane crane accident: ‘Many of our colleagues died waiting for help’

Survivors of the girder launcher collapse on the Samruddhi Eway at Thane are in shock after losing many of their colleagues in the incident Many labourers were from Bihar and had been working together for some time in one case a survivor lost his brother uncle and nephew Some have alleged that they did not have proper safety gear and many would have been alive if they had itSome have alleged that they received help hours after the incident ldquoI have been working on this project for more than a year not a single mishap had taken place till now Last night I started duty as usual The crane came crashing down and I sustained minor injuries on a legrdquo said Prem Prakash Gupta one of the labourers injured in the accidentPrem Prakash Gupta one of the labourers who survived says he has been unable to close his eyes since the accident as the sight of his colleagues lying dead keeps coming to mind PicsRajesh GuptaThe work shift on the Samruddhi Highway began at 9 pm and the workers engineers and other employees were preparing for Tuesdayrsquos work when the crane collapsed Of the 28 workers four engineers and seven employees on the site 20 were killed Gupta who is admitted in the Subdistrict hospital Shahapur told midday ldquoOne moment we were all standing there and the next moment my friends were dead When the machine crashed one part of it fell on my right leg I am lucky to be aliverdquolsquoWe lived like a familyrsquoGupta broke down after seeing his colleagues ldquoWe all lived like a family Many of the workers are from Bihar There were twothree workers beside me who lost their lives instantly Their bodies were lying there I havenrsquot been able to close my eyes for even a minute since then as that horrific sight comes to mindrdquo he addedRelatives and friends of the deceased outside the Subdistrict Hospital ShahapurGhanashyam Gupta 36 lost his brother uncle and nephew in the incident Inconsolable he said ldquoThe last time we all went to our hometown was for Diwali Now I will take their bodies What will I tell their families My uncle Surendra Kumar Paswan 37 has three kids my brother Pappu Kumar 28 has two kids and nephew Lavkush Kumar 28 has three kids Nobody at the site had any safety gear Had the authorities taken our safety seriously some lives could have been savedrdquoVillagers rushed to helpArun Valate 33 a farmer and resident of SarlambaKhutadi village which is few metres from the spot said ldquoAround 1130 pm we heard a loud thud as if an earthquake had struck We also felt a major jolt When I came out of my house many of the villagers were already running towards the accident site We saw twothree injured workers Initially we thought they were only injured but then one of them said many others were trapped inside and there could be from 20 or 22 of them We were taken aback We took those three persons to the Shahapur hospital but couldnrsquot do much to help the others due to the heavy structurerdquoRelatives of the deceased being given letters about the compensation after which they claimed the bodies PicsRajesh GuptaAfter information on the incident was relayed to higher authorities a team of NDRF from Pune arrived at the spot Lokesh Kumar a relative of Lavkush Kumar one of the deceased said ldquoThere was no help from the time of incident until 5 am Many of our colleagues died waiting for help Had there been any safety measuresmdashhelmets etcmdashmost of them would have been alive todayrdquolsquoAll security measures takenrsquoThe construction at the site is being done by Navyuga Engineering Private Limited which has subcontracted work to VSL India Pvt Ltd A representative of VSL said ldquoThis is a terrible incident and never has such an accident happened in the companyrsquos history We had followed all security measures but this is something we never ever imaginedrdquoBoth the companies announced R5 lakh compensation to each of the deceasedrsquos families But other workers and relatives of the deceased got into arguments with the company representatives They demanded an undertaking from both the companies about the compensation on their letterheads with the amount The letters for each deceased employee were brought to the Subdistrict Hospital Shahapur at 4 pm and given to the relatives after which they claimed the bodies