Sharjah: A 26-year-old construction worker is battling for his life in the intensive care unit of a hospital after he saved several children from a collapsing crane on Saturday evening in Sharjah.
The Pakistani worker, identified as Farsat Khan, sustained serious head injuries and has multiple fractures in different parts of his body, in the accident that has left one person dead.
The incident took place at around 5.30pm on Saturday at a construction site in Al Nahda leading to the death of a 31-year-old Sri Lankan worker Mohammad Wafa Aldin.
Police patrols, emergency crew and ambulance arrived at the scene shortly after the accident, evacuating the site and tending to the casualties.
The injured worker was transferred to Al Qasimi Hospital and was admitted in the intensive care unit (ICU), where he continues to receive treatment.
Following the fatal crane collapse, Sharjah Police detained senior managers of the construction company operating on the site, while several employees who were present at the site when the accident happened were summoned for questioning as the investigators are trying to piece together the moments leading to the tragic accident.
A police official told Gulf News that senior managers on the project have serious questions to answer, as work on the site has been suspended pending further investigation.
The official said that cause of the collapse has not been ascertained yet by the investigators.
Gulf News visited the accident site on Sunday where the mangled remains of the crane could still be seen.
The under construction building, which was being built by a major construction firm, is located among number of residential towers, however, the crane collapse did not cause any damage to either the building under construction or any other property.
The site is being inspected by Sharjah Civil Defence and Sharjah Municipality to find out if there were any violations that led to the collapse.
According to Basheer, an Indian watchman working in the vicinity, the injured worker is a hero who saved several children who were playing nearby.
“It was incredible to see a man at the construction site leaping into action when he saw children playing near the site where the crane was falling down. He put himself in danger and saved the children,” said Basheer, 30.
“All children are safe ... no one was hurt and the crane fell on the worker. He was bleeding from the head and blood stains were seen on the ground,” he said.
Another resident identified Ebrahim Esmail, 45, from Jordan told Gulf News that he saw the crane tilting on one side adjacent to his building before it collapsed. The accident shocked the residents in the area as the crane collapsed suddenly and a number of children were playing in the area at that time.
When the police and emergency rescue units arrived one worker was trapped under the collapsed crane and it took the rescue workers around 10 hours to extract the body out.
The body was moved to Al Kuwaiti Hospital at around 3am and then transferred to the forensic laboratory.
According to the police officials all children playing in the area at the time of the crane collapse were safe.
The accident has shocked the residents of the area, which has several sites under construction with cranes operating next to residential buildings occupied by families.
Major Hani, Director of Media Section at Sharjah Civil Defence, said the fire fighters were called to the scene to remove the wreckage of the collapsed crane and to pull out the trapped worker.
Authorities have urged the engineers and construction workers to ensure that all safety procedures are in place at their worksites in order to avoid similar accidents.
