Killer lift had been deemed unsafe

Developers claim they had ordered discontinuation of service elevator that led to death of five workers in Matunga

Developers claim they had ordered discontinuation of service elevator that led to death of five workers in Matunga

A lift carrying six workers plunged in a terrifying free-fall from the 20th floor of a building in Matunga (East) last morning.

The accident happened at 11 am at La Sonarisa when six workers overloaded a temporary service elevator meant for three people. Five workers died and one is battling for life at Sion hospital.


Police at La Sonarisa in Matunga where five workers died when a service elevator plunged from the 20th floor

According to the police, the temporary service elevator was a makeshift one and did not have the safety features that shaft lifts have.

Senior Inspectoru00a0 Sunil Deshmukh of the Matunga police, said "The workers were engaged in some repair and painting work in one of the flats on the 20th floor ofu00a0 the building and the lift was on its way up when the cables snapped."

Five workers have been identified as Suresh Wadekar, Rajaram Satpal, Abdul Wahid Khan, Modil Mangroo Gufa and Shantaram Kevat.u00a0 One worker remained unidentified.

The Assistant Medical Officer on duty at Sion hospital said, "At 11.45 am, the police brought the victims to the hospital. Five were declared dead on arrival and Kevat survived with severe head injuries and fractures to both limbs. His condition is critical."

According to a spokesperson for Success Developers,u00a0 one of the builders, the lift had been deemed unsafe. He also said they were not responsible for the accident since they had clearly ordered that its usage be discontinued.

The spokesperson saidu00a0 they were prepared to bear all medical expenses and compensation would be paid to the next of kin of the deceased.

Rukhsana Sheikh, widow of Abdul Khan (35), said, "I had breakfast with him this morning. We have six daughters and I am pregnant again. I do not know what to do, now that the only bread-earner in my family is no more."

The police have booked developers Boman Irani and Percy Chowdhary from Rustomjee Developers; Kaushik Shah, Chandresh Mehta and Ketan Shah from Success Developers and Bipin Singhania, who had installed the lift, under Sections 304, 308 and 114 of the IPC, which includes culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

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