Mumbai: 14 Workers Injured as Girder of Under-Construction Flyover Collapses; MMRDA to Probe

Mumbai: At least 14 workers were injured after a girder of an under-construction flyover at MTNL junction in suburban Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) here collapsed early on Friday, civic officials said.

The mishap occurred at 4.41 am, they said.

The injured workers were taken to the Vile Parle-based V N Desai Hospital, where the doctors said that their condition was stable, the officials added.

After being informed about the incident, police and fire brigade personnel along with other authorities rushed to the spot.

As per the preliminary report, the workers, who are in the age group of 21 to 49 years, were carrying out some work on the girder when it fell down, they added.

The flyover is being constructed on Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR) to reduce traffic snarls on the east-west link, besides for decongesting the BKC area, one of the biggest business districts of Mumbai.

Later in the day, Maharashtra Environment and Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray announced that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has instituted an inquiry into the collapse of the BKC arm of the under-construction flyover.

 "The MMRDA has instituted a 15-day inquiry and those responsible for negligence or any other reason for this section collapse, will not be spared," Thackeray, who is also the guardian minister of Mumbai suburban district, where the incident occurred, said in a tweet.

 In other tweets, the minister said that ensuring safety of the injured workers was the "immediate priority", and added that all 14 workers were "safe and fine".

 The MMRDA, which is the planning, executing and coordinating authority for Mumbai's metropolitan region, is building this flyover. However, the authority has not issued any official statement over the incident so far.

Speaking to mediapersons persons at the spot, MMRDA's metropolitan commissioner SVR Srinivas said the girder of the flyover slipped a bit due to the "tilting" of bearings.

He said the MMRDA was very strict about the quality of the material, and added that an inquiry would be conducted "independently" and necessary action would be taken "very seriously".

"Such things happen very rarely. It is unfortunate...Should not happen. We will carry out a detailed inquiry and action will be taken (against those responsible)," Srinivas said.

Meanwhile, RTI activist Anil Galgali urged the Mumbai Police to register a case against the officials and contractors concerned for the alleged violation of safety standards and norms during the flyover construction.