8 injured after water tank under construction collapses

Centering of a water tank of Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) under construction collapsed at 11 am on Monday here. Eight workers have been injured and are receiving treatment for the same.

Krishna Byre Gowda Cabinet Minister of rural development, Karnataka said, "From the eight injured six are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)."

Three have succumbed to their injuries. The three that passed away were Prabhuram, a 26-year-old civil engineer from Tamil Nadu, Sumanthkar a supervisor from West Bengal and Krishnayadav, a 25-year-old from Davangere, Karnataka.

A signed document by the contractor stated that there were 20 workers present on site. The minister added, "All the 20 workers have been rescued and the dog squad and radar equipment have been put to use to ensure that no one else is left behind."

The project was given to a construction company to build it under the guidance of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB). "The news of this accident reached the BWSSB offices at 11 am and rescue operations by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were in full swing by 11:30 am," said the minister.

The cause of this accident still remains unclear. The speculation is that more concrete was poured in within a matter of few seconds and the scaffolding could not bear the weight which resulted in the collapse of the centering.

A case has been registered at the Amruthahalli police station under IPC 304. The minister has assured that besides the criminal investigation, an enquiry by Technical experts from Indian Institute of Science or the Bureau of Construction Standard will be conducted, to ascertain if this was an accident or technical failure.

The Chairman of BWSSB Tushar Girinath visited the site on Saturday and the Minister was scheduled to visit on Tuesday. The work on this plant began one and a half year ago and will take six months more to reach completion.