JOIN USLucky escape for bus passengers
According to the eye-witnesses, the incident occurred around 4.30 pm when engineers of BMRCL were placing the heavy concrete beam atop the column with the help of crane.
The crane driver succeeded in taking the beam atop, but the beam slipped from the hook and fell on the road below. None was injured in the mishap.
For the 50-60 passengers of bus, it was a providential escape. The bus had just crossed the spot, when the beam fell down. “It would have been a horrific disaser had the beam fallen on the bus,” said Sudhakar, an eye-witness.
The engineers were seen blaming the workers and the crane operator for fastening the beam loosely, causing it to slip and fall. Worried BMRCL officials dashed to the spot, quickly removed the beam from the road and wrapped it in a with plastic cover. Panic prevailed at the spot as a huge crowd gathered. Traffic choked on Tumkur Road for nearly an hour, before the road was finally cleared by the traffic police.
‘Small incident’
The BMRCL dubbed this incident as a small one and has stated that hundreds of beams are placed everywhere. A top BMRCL official said the Corporation has ordered for a thorough investigation into the incident.
“We will take action as per the agreement signed between BMRCL and L&T, which has got contract to build the Metro Railway Station at Yeshwantpur,” said the official. Safety is increasingly becoming a concern for the Metro project. A major tragedy had been averted in August when a crane used at one of the sites came crashing down on a moving car. The family travelling in the car escaped unhurt, miraculously.
BMRCL later attributed the mishap at Vijaynagar to loose soil at the construction site. The crane was in the process of lifting a pillar when the accident took place.