Worker killed as lift crashes down from 17th floor of under-construction building

Mumbai: A worker was killed after a lift came crashing down from the 17th floor to the ground floor in an under-construction 19-storey building in Nehru Nagar of Kurla (east) on Friday.

The deceased has been identified as Mohammad Rizwan Shaikh, 28, a native of Bihar.

According to the police, the incident happened when Rizwan along with Naushid Ali Shaikh, 18, Bashir Shaikh, 21, and Nadim, 26, all steel fitters, were engaged in collecting steel material lying on the terrace, 16th and 17th floors of building number 40, developed by Deria builder, in Nehru Nagar.

Naushid was handing over the collected material to Rizwan on the 17th floor to load inside the lift, while Bashir and Nadim went to the ground floor to help Rizwan in removing the material once the lift reached down, a police officer said.

All of a sudden, the lift crashed to the ground floor at 3.30pm, while Rizwan was still in it. He sustained severe injuries to chest and suffered fractures on leg and hand. Hearing the loud thud, other workers gathered and removed an unconscious Rizwan from the lift.

Their employer, Jayanti Lal Patel, called an ambulance and Rizwan was rushed to Sion Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival, added the officer.

Meanwhile, the Nehru Nagar police have arrested the contractor, Patel, based on a complaint by Naushid. All four had been working for Patel for the past five months. The contractor had not provided any safety equipment like cap, belt or rope, Naushid told the police in his statement.

Patel has been booked under section 304 (a) (Causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code on Saturday.

“It appears that due to heavy load, the lift might have crashed, but we will take the opinion of a technician and initiate further legal action,” Mohamad Yusuf Saudagar, senior inspector, said. The police have informed about the incident to the family of the deceased.