Building safety: 7 workers perish as wall caves in

Another two injured in incident

LAHORE: Seven labourers were killed early on Tuesday near the Quaid-i-Azam Industrial Interchange on the Grand Trunk Road.

Another two were injured in the incident. The deceased, engaged in the construction of the Orange Line Metro Train project, were killed when a wall of an under-construction godown collapsed on their makeshift residences as a thunderstorm and rain lashed the city. The men had retired for the night when the incident transpired.

Ehtisham, another labourer who dwells at the site, said everyone was fast asleep when they heard a wall collapsing followed by wails for help. He said some workers had rushed to the spot and found the aforementioned caught under the debris. Ehtisham said they had started retrieving them from the debris after informing Rescue-1122.

An operation to retrieve them was mounted following the arrival of rescue teams at the spot. Rescue-1122 managed to retrieve nine labourers from the debris. The men were then taken to Mayo Hospital. Doctors confirmed the demise of seven of them. The remaining men were discharged later on Tuesday after being placed initially in intensive care at the facility.

The bodies of the deceased were sent to a mortuary for autopsy. Police have collected evidence from the spot and recorded statements of eye-witnesses. Officials said the bodies of the deceased had been handed over to their families following the completion of formalities.

Other labourers resident at the site alleged that the incident had transpired as the aforementioned godown lacked a sturdy foundation. They called on the provincial government to mete out justice. The labourers also demanded the government and the pertinent firm to award financial compensation to relatives of those killed.

Manawan police said a case had been registered against godown owner Shafqat Malik on the complaint of the Wagha TMO. Officials said police were looking for him.

Taking notice of the incident, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif asked pertinent authorities to furnish a report on it in 24 hours. The incident is not the first of its kind to transpire. Two labourers engaged in construction work on the project in Nawab Town area had perished on January 17 after the crane they were operating touched high-voltage live wires. On January 25, an aged man had died after being hit by a speeding crane deployed along the route of the project. Another six people have died in connection with the project. These include a traffic warden and a schoolgirl.

Those killed in today’s incident have been identified as Rahim Yar Khan resident Irfan, Uch Sharif resident Maqbool, Mianwali resident Usman, Jalalpur resident Arshad, Multan residents Nadir, Zulfiqar and Nadeem.

Metro project: ‘What steps are being taken for workers’ safety?’

Lahore High Court on Tuesday directed the government to submit details of measures taken to ensure safety of labourers working on the Orange Line Metro Train project.

Advocate Azhar Siddique said 20 labourers had died so far at metro train construction sites around the city. “No precautionary measures have been taken by the government, the Punjab Mass Transit Authority, the Lahore Development Authority, the Environment Protection Authority or the contractors to ensure the safety of workers.” He said electricity supply to Mayo Hospital had remained suspended for eight hours due to construction work on the project. “It had caused the death of a patient.”

He said the government had earlier denied that the project was part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. “However, government lawyers had later said the project was a part of the CPEC,” he said. “According to Wikipedia, the 27-kilometre train is expected to cost $1.65 billion. $650 million will be provided by the federal government and the rest is being financed through soft loans by the Chinese government as a part of CPEC,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 25^th, 2016.