One person died and 11 others were injured in yet another accident that struck the Mumbai Metro project. The incident occurred on Tuesday evening at Marol where the Airport Road Metro station on Andheri Kurla Road was being constructed. This is part of the first phase of the city’s Metro network, which will run from Versova to Ghatkopar.
“The cause, prima facie, seems to be heavy rainfall. Work was underway for making a staircase when it collapsed,’’ said an official who declined to be identified.
The deceased has been identified as Umesh Sahu, a labourer working on the project. The injured, who are also said to be construction workers, were rushed to Seven Hills Hospital in Marol, Paramount Hospital in Saki Naka and civic-run Cooper Hospital in Vile Parle. The accident severely affected traffic on the busy Andheri-Kurla road between 4 pm and 6 pm. Andheri-bound traffic was diverted through the Airport Road.
According to the official, scaffolding was there at the site above which concreting work was going on from afternoon. Half of the concrete had been poured by a mixer. It seems that the portion below the scaffolding got washed away in rains disbalancing the temporary structure.
“Even after the incident, the cement is still wet. Had the work got over two days back then the basic staircase structure would have been ready by now,’’ added the official.
This time it was HCC, the firm that constructed the iconic Bandra-Worli Sea Link, which was carrying out the work. The earlier mishaps on the Metro corridor have occurred in portions under Simplex Infrastructure. HCC and Simplex Infrastructure are sub-contractors for a consortium led by Reliance Infrastructure, which is tasked with building the Metro. The consortium, Mumbai Metro One Private Limited (MMOPL), in a statement said, “We deeply regret the accident that has happened at Airport Station Metro site, which is being constructed by our contractor HCC. Our emergency response team along with HCC staff is at the site to provide rescue and relief services which is the top most and immediate priority for us.’’