Ghaziabad: 1 killed, 7 injured as slab of under construction mall collapses

Ghaziabad: A labourer was killed while over half a dozen others were injured after the ceiling of an under-construction shopping mall collapsed here late Sunday night.

The incident took place at the under-construction Gaur Aerocity Mall in Tila Mod police station area of Ghaziabad. The work of laying lintel was going on late at night when it collapsed.

As per a labourer, a few workers were standing under the lintel while others were standing over it to lay the lintel when suddenly it collapsed. Other workers working nearby reached the spot and started rescuing the trapped workers. They alerted others and police was informed.

On receiving the information, Assistant Police Commissioner, Shalimar Garden, Siddharth Gautam, along with police force reached the spot.

“We immediately joined the rescue operation and pulled out trapped workers from the debris. They were taken to district hospital where one of them succumbed while others are admitted for treatment,” said ACP Gautam.

Police said that the deceased has been identified as Amit Kumar (25), a native of Amroha. His relatives have been informed and the body was sent for post-mortem. A complaint has been received from the family of the deceased against the construction company and the contractor. Action is being taken after registering an FIR, the ACP added.

A labourer working at the site said that they were not provided any safety kit or helmets. Most of them are daily wage labourers who are not trained for skilled labour jobs.

Earlier in September, at least eight labourers were killed after a service lift at the under construction Amrapali Dream Valley residential project in Greater Noida West collapsed. While moving upward, the lift had a free fall from the 14th floor with nine labourers inside.

Police have registered an FIR and arrested a labour contractor and several other persons for negligence.