Sharjah: Four Asian workers were killed yesterday in a freak early morning accident after their suspended working platform collapsed at their work site in Sharjah.
Colonel Waheed Eisa Al Serkal, Director General of Sharjah Civil Defence, told Gulf News that the accident happened at 3:30am and three Indian and one Bangladeshi workers were killed following the incident.
The workers were putting up a billboard on the sixth floor at Al Ansar Mall, when the steel wires holding the platform snapped plunging them to their deaths.
The workers had started their shift at such an early hour in order to adapt to the midday break rule for summer months that came into effect in mid-June, which prohibits workers from working between 12:30pm and 3pm.
Safety concern
Dr Yousuf Al Serkal, Director of Kuwaiti Hospital, said they had received three dead bodies and an injured worker, who died in the hospital after several hours in the intensive care unit.
Hamid Al Mansouri, Director General of Ansar Mall, said he was awakened by a call at around 3:30am about an accident that took place in the premises of the shopping centre.
"The four workers were putting up a signboard about the opening of Salkara Restaurant, which recently opened. They were not employed by us, but by a contracting firm that specialised in advertising," he said.
"It is now up to the police to investigate who is responsible for the incident, but there were safety concerns because the workers were not equipped with safety belts."
A spokesperson of Sharjah Police said that the accident was an unfortunate one and that police are currently investigating the incident.
Have you seen any construction sites with unsafe working conditions? Do you think there should be stricter implementations of safety regulations?