Construction labour falls down - 3 rods enter the body - person suffers injuries

Doctors had tough time to save the injured with 3 rods in his body.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/doctors-couldnt-carry-out-tests-because-of-protruding-rods/articleshow/65331052.cms

Under construction bridge / flyover collapse in Varanasi on 15.05.2018 - reasons

As per reports, the bridge / flyover collapse leading to 18 deaths was due to issues involving design, quality, barrication, supervision. Proper records and checklist were not maintained making it difficult to ascertain the material used for concreting.  Pour card filling is to be done so that all details like area of work, ratio of cement, sand, water used, status of shuttering etc will be noted and signed by all concerned.

https://www.firstpost.com/india/varanasi-flyover-collapse-initial-probe-identifies-6-lapses-in-construction-advises-strict-action-against-high-ranking-officials-4474481.html

Issue of safety kit to registered construction workers by Maharashtra government

Maharashtra government decided to issue safety kit and essential items kit containing safety shoe, helmet, gloves, reflective jacket, dust mask in former and water bottle, mosquito repellant, plastic mat, bag , etc in later.

The news item is available in the link below:

http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/maharashtra-govt-to-provide-safety-kits-for-all-registered-construction-site-workers-4956258/

Safety statistics of India - as per British Safety Council - an article in Times of India

Every day 38 fatal accidents in construction sector compared 137 in all sectors in Britain.
24.2% of fatal accidents are in construction sector.
Every year, 48000 workers die in work related accidents.

Read the full article here.

Construction site deaths - scaffold collapse, fall from height, electric shock

Avoidable accidents at different construction sites led to death of 3 persons in construction sites.
The primary reasons are collapse of scaffold on which persons were working, fall of person from height and burns due to electric shock respectively.
The news item may be read in the link below.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/three-construction-workers-killed-within-5-hours/

Slab fall from demolition of adjacent flats damages common boundary wall

As per news reports, during the demolition of flats, a slab falls down on adjacent common boundary wall, causing damage. The area on this side was  not barricaded, though, it was barricaded on other two sides by the construction company. The debris and dust during the demolition will be an issue for the neighbours and needs cordoning for sufficient distance as a protective measure. 

As per statements, in the same report, there are no rules governing demolition buildings.

It is fortunate, that nobody is injured in the incident.

Construction scaffolding collapses, killing 74 at Chinese power plant - World Socialist Web Site

Construction scaffolding collapses, killing 74 at Chinese power plant - World Socialist Web Site

It is reported that during construction work in a power plant, a tower crane collapsed. This caused a 70 m high scaffolding collapse leading to more than 74 deaths and injuries to others. Reports say 90% of the workers at site died in the accident. The accident occurred during shift changeover at about 0730 hr, resulting in more deaths.

Speeding up of the work, possibly with bypassing of safety procedures to cut costs appears to be the cause, as per the reports.

One has to know that safety is not cost addition, but a cost saving measure. Any work completed without accidents by safety procedure violations, is only by luck. And, one can't depend on luck for ever. Companies will face the consequences leading to closures with this type of attitude.

One can sacrifice productivity, but not safety of persons.

It is stated that in the year 2015, about 66000 persons died in the country during industrial accidents at 181 per day (appears exaggerated, but reports say so).

13 persons were arrested in connection of with this accident as per the report.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/chinese-officials-detain-13-construction-accident-kills-74-article-1.2887359

Photos of the scene can be seen in the link above.

Intense heat, poor construction led to collapse?

Intense heat, poor construction led to collapse?:  A senior structural engineer and professor at JNTU, Hyderabad who was part of a number of committees related to fire accidents said on the incident, “Beyond a certain temperature, the steel melts, causing collapse of slab,...".

Similar reason was found during collapse of twin towers of US WTC, long ago.

LINK

Hit by beam, person driving on the road dies

In an incident, an engineer driving a bike along Rapid Metro corridor under construction, was hit by an iron beam of 19 ft length, fell down and died of injuries before taken to hospital. It is stated that he hit a labourer carrying the beam and fell down. But, as per eye witnesses, beam fell from top and initial forensic reports based on helmet damage state that the person was hit by an object from height.
It is unknown as how a labourer can carry a 19 ft long iron pipe, where he was walking with the pipe (as it is stated that bike rider hit him) and whether the work area is marked or barricaded, or, not. Though, people can claim no negligence, then how the incident happened is to be investigated.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/Engineer-21-killed-in-freak-Metro-accident/articleshow/17354580.cms?

Fire in under-construction hotel

In a fire incident during the early hours in an hotel under construction, two construction workers became unconscious. It is suspected that a cigarette butt thrown by some worker or short circuit aided with presence of lot of decorative material and construction wood, etc led to this incident. Little care is taken generally during construction phase as such incidents occur regularly in various parts of the world. Electrical connections used for portable tools are generally without any plug and socket arrangement, no proper earthing, damaged/twisted cables, etc and it is accepted as a practice in the construction industry. People also store paint and thinner tins, wood, etc in a congested room and this can lead to fire incidents.

http://www.hindu.com/2010/11/20/stories/2010112064960700.htm (with photo)
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-11-29/hyderabad/30454315_1_fire-safety-major-fire-short-circuit
http://expressbuzz.com/topic/fire-mishap-in-fivestar-hotel/338176.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P64aZ1i6y1I
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraj_Al_Bait (a fire incident involving construction wood)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bally's_Las_Vegas (85 deaths in the fire incident that caused improvements in hotel fire safety worldwide)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Salle_Hotel (61 deaths in the fire leading to development of new codes for hotels in Chicago)

Person suffers burns during digging

A construction labourer suffered burn injuries while working in a trench to repair a septic tank piping. The person using a power tool to remove the damaged pipe hit an LPG line in the trench and the sparks led to fire engulfing the person. The injured with difficulty came out of the trench and rolled over the grass to extinguish flames. The person who engaged the injured was penalised for various lapses.

From the description about the incident, the lapses that come to notice are,

1. Whether any permission taken for digging where the gas lines are present. It is a widely followed safety practice to identify presence of utility lines like electrical/gas/water in the area proposed for digging and take precautions to ensure safety of the persons and property. If it is in a factory area, concerned engineer will give clearance and in case of public area, town planning engineer will give such clearance.
2. From the photograph in the weblink, service line identification marks are not visible in the area.
3. Absence of measures for preventing trench cave-in.
4. Lack of proper means of access/egress from the trench like a ladder at 30 m distance intervals.
5. Whether only one person was engaged for such work and if not what happened to other workers.
6. Absence of supervision.

Most of accidents reported are leak/fire/explosion due to puncturing of gas lines during digging.