At least one worker died and another was injured after the roof of an under-construction building collapsed at the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar, police said on Saturday. The incident took place late on Friday night when the labourers were engaged in the construction of a 6,000-sq ft roof meant to link Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 of the airport.
"One person has died. The injured person is out of danger," Khurda Collector Sitanshu Rout said. The deceased has been identified as Anataryami Guru,
helper of a truck. He hailed from Badamba-Narsinghpur area in Cuttack district, while the injured worker is Nabakishore Swain, police said.
Special Relief Commissioner P K Jena said Guru was rescued alive after personnel of the NDRF, ODRAF and the State Fire Department cut through the concrete.
However, he succumbed to injuries in hospital. "We have already informed the incident to our headquarters in Delhi. They will send competent persons to
inspect the site within one or two days," BPIA director VV Rao told PTI.
"We have to see why it happened. What led to the collapse of the roof? Experts from our headquarter will investigate the matter looking into technical reasons behind the mishap," Rao said, adding that the incident has no impact on flight operation at the airport.
Bhubaneswar Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Anup Sahu said the police has already started questioning the officials and engineers of the construction company.
"We have set up a team to undertake a criminal investigation into the matter and trying to find out why the roof collapsed," Sahu said.
The DCP said: "We will initiate legal procedure required for the case. An expert team of engineers have been requisitioned to verify whether the safety measures were taken while executing the work. We have also sought the agreement paper for the construction of the building."
Meanwhile, Dilip Khatoi, the managing director of the construction company claimed that all safety measures were in place.
"The roof collapsed after the workers left the place. I am not sure how the helper of a truck came under the roof," Khatoi said.
All Odisha Contractors Association president, Prabhat Das, claimed that some workers of the construction company alleged that instead of using iron pipes, wooden shafts were used for the "centring of the roof". As a result, the roof collapsed as it could not withstand the load.
Ruling BJD spokesperson Sasmit Patra expressed concern over the incident and demanded a high-level probe.
"We are not politicising the tragedy like BJP. We demand adequate compensation for the victims family and exemplary action against the persons responsible for the incident," Patra said.
Opposition and BJP and Congress also expressed concern over the incident and demanded a thorough probe into the incident. Congress MLA Suresh Routray demanded a CBI probe into the incident as the mishap took place while constructing the airports project worth about Rs 100 crore.
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