UAE | General

Accident puts spotlight on lax construction standards

Rescue workers found the remaining four bodies on Tuesday under the construction debris and they are all Indian workers, according to Ajman Police Chief, Colonel Ali Abdullah Alwan.

  • By Bassma Al Jandaly, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 21:08 June 3, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • The body of a worker being extricated from the concrete rubble of the under-construction hotel in Ajman.
  • Image Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/Gulf News

Ajman: Rescue workers found the remaining four bodies on Tuesday under the construction debris and they are all Indian workers, according to Ajman Police Chief, Colonel Ali Abdullah Alwan.

Late on Monday two bodies were unearthed. The victims had gone down to the basement to check a leakage when the concrete framework collapsed.

Police have identified only three bodies of the workers who are presumed to be from the Indian state of Punjab because of their names. The corpses have been taken to the forensic laboratory.

All the victims are Indian workers with Seidco General Contracting, which was building the Laguna Beach Hotel on the Corniche Road. The hotel worksite is just opposite the Ajman Chamber of Commerce and Industry building.

Police said the rescue work was carried out round-the-clock but was slow as the wet concrete which fell on the workers hardened in the sun. Piece by piece, concrete chunks were drilled, broken into bits and then dug out.

One worker who was helping in the rescue said he was very sad over the deaths of his colleagues.

Special permission

"I am now worried that such thing could happen to me also," he told Gulf News.

The accident occurred at 2am on Monday while the workers were pouring concrete. Special permission had been taken from the Ajman Municipality to work in the night as concrete hardens fast during the daytime.

According to the workers, construction of the hotel had stopped twice before, once when sea water seeped into the project and another when there were differences and owners changed hands. Ajman is facing a huge real estate boom with foreign investors moving their sights to this emirate as property prices are still reasonable as compared to neighbouring emirates.

Industry sources said the many accidents recently around the country are because safety measures are becoming lax as contractors race to finish their projects.

Case: Three engineers charged

Three engineers of Seidco General Contracting have been charged by the public prosecutor of negligence and failure to adhere to safety measures and causing the death of six workers, police said.

Of the three arrested on Monday include the site engineer and the consultant engineer.

The engineers were all at the work site when the concrete was being poured onto the roof of the basement in the early hours of the morning when the accident occurred. The framework could not support the weight of the concrete and collapsed. A few minutes earlier, an engineer saw that there was a leakage and asked the workers to go down and investigate. Within minutes the framework fell on the workers crushing them

Colonel Ali Abdullah Alwan, Ajman Police Chief, earlier said that if proper precautionary measures were taken these unfortunate people would not have lost their lives.

Victims named

Police on Tuesday identified three victims. They are :

  • Karan Veer Ram Lubhaya
  • Jasveer Ram Lubhaya
  • Pawan Kumar Ashok Kumar.

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