Five workers injured after a portion of scaffolding collapses over them

Noida: At least five workers were injured after a portion of a scaffolding of Cleo County, an under-construction high-rise residential society in Sector-121 of Noida, fell on them while they were working on Tuesday morning. The incident left one worker critically injured while others escaped with minor injuries.

According to the police, the incident took place at around 10:30 am. "The victims identified as Majai Sheikh, Mahijul Alam, Vinod Rishi, Abdul Sattar and Raju were working at the site when the scaffolding from 2nd floor of the building collapsed on them. Sheikh is admitted to Shivalik Hospital with severe head injuries while the other received minor injuries and have been admitted to Om Hospital," said a senior police official. All the victims hail from Bihar and Bengal and lived in the slums built at the construction site. Police said that no complaint has been received so far in the matter.

"The exact cause of the incident is still unknown but the scaffolding collapsed from the 2nd floor of the building. We have not yet received any complaint. Once a complaint is filed, we will launch a probe into the matter," said Amit Kumar Singh, Station House officer, Phase-3 police station.

Some eye-witnesses said that the scaffolding was not installed properly due to the incident take place. "The site is undergoing construction work. The scaffolding fell suddenly and few people were injured in the incident. Maybe, it was not installed properly due to which it fell to the ground," said Manoj, a worker.

Vijay Sharma, site engineer of the project, said all the laborers involved in the work were fully equipped with mandatory safety equipment like harnesses and helmets.

"Prima facie it seems like a case of human error by one of the laborers who subconsciously ended up putting weight on the scaffolding which had already been unlocked due to ongoing dismantling process," said Sharma.