Three dead in scaffolding mishap: ‘My son left home this morning with a smile on his face’

As families of labourers mourn the loss of their breadwinners, police launch probe into construction contractor of Borivli building

Three workers lost their lives, and one was critically injured after a portion of scaffolding from an under-construction building collapsed at Kalpana Chawla Chowk in Borivli around 1 pm on Tuesday. The deceased were identified as Piyush Halder, 38, Shankar Baidya, 25, and Manoranjan Samaddar, 42, while the person injured was identified as Sushil Gupta, 35, admitted to the SICU at Shatabdi Hospital. All hailed from West Bengal.
 
Assistant Municipal Commissioner of R/Central ward, Sandhya Nandedkar, said, "Three workers were killed, and one was critically injured after some portion of a scaffolding of an under-construction building collapsed."

A portion of scaffolding from Sony Arcade, an under-construction building, collapsed. Pics/Nimesh Dave

Ninad Sawant, Senior PI of Borivali Police Station, provided additional details, "Scaffolding from the 17th floor of a 24-storey under-construction building collapsed, which resulted in four workers getting injured. They were rushed to Kandivli-based Shatabdi Hospital, where three of them were declared dead, while the condition of the fourth victim was critical. Post-mortem procedures are ongoing. All four are originally from West Bengal."

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An anonymous civic official said, "After being alerted about the incident, two fire engines were rushed to the spot along with the personnel of the city fire brigade, police, and the civic body." An official from Shatabdi Hospital provided an update on the victims, stating, "Four individuals, middle-aged, were brought to the hospital, of which three were declared dead before admission, and Sushil Gupta is in critical condition (as of 7 pm on March 12)."

The scaffolding from the 17th floor of a 24-storey under-construction building collapsed

A relative of one of the deceased, while talking to mid-day, said, "We came here from West Bengal to find work and were staying in a nearby slum. He (the deceased) was the sole earning member of the family, and we were surviving on day-to-day wages. I am not sure what we will be doing now as the breadwinner of our family is no more."

The mother of another deceased, shaken by the incident, said, "We came to Mumbai a few years back, and my son took up the construction job to support the family. I am not in a condition to accept this loss. My son had left the house for his daily job today morning with a smiling face which is the last memory of him that I have."

"The incident has once again raised concerns about the safety of construction workers and the need for stricter adherence to safety guidelines on construction sites. We are investigating the incident to determine the exact cause of the scaffolding collapse," said an officer from Borivli police.

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The floor from which the scaffolding fell

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