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Tragic Construction Accident Kills at Least 39, More Missing

By Katie Kelley

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 02Oct2009 Word count: 454 Viewed: 286 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

Tragic news came out of India this past week when it was reported that at least 39 people had been killed in a construction accident in Raipur. Raipur is centrally located in Chattisgarh state of India, a newly formed state carved out of Madhya Pradesh on 1st November 2000. On September 23, a chimney over 300 feet high collapsed, killing 20 workers involved instantly and trapping more workers under stone, concrete, and other construction debris. Some estimates put the potential number of trapped individuals as high as 100.

Investigators believe the chimney collapsed due to severe weather, though this has not been confirmed yet. More attention is currently being placed on potentially finding survivors buried in the rubble than properly identifying the cause of the collapse. Hundreds of rescue workers have turned out from neighboring areas to help remove giant piles of concrete and other construction materials, hoping to find more survivors buried in the rubble. However, there are several limitations preventing officials from getting both an exact number and properly identifying those who may still be missing. Police say that since there are not definitive ledgers documenting all workers on site, it is difficult to say how many more workers are still unaccounted for. Additionally, as many of the workers were also migrant laborers from neighboring villages, the chances of their families contacting officials at the construction site could be very slim, if any; oftentimes, these workers have no family or either they are estranged to the point of essentially having no relations nearby.

Among those persons police are searching for, several officials involved in the regulation and supervision of the site are being sought by police. These individuals are wanted for questioning about safety practices and standards on the site, though police are currently having a hard time tracking these persons down. Police suspect they have gone in to hiding following the collapse and subsequent international press attention. While minor construction accidents are a common occurrence in India, accidents of this magnitude often involve a gross oversight by supervisors and officials on the sites. Many times, these accidents are preventable, however officials on construction sites have been known to try and cut costs on the project as much as possible, either to appease their superiors or to line their own pockets with a healthy amount of cash.

This incident further proves that many construction accidents and fatalities on job sites are preventable. Many times, the fault of the accident lies not with the worker, but those in supervisory positions cutting corners by overlooking safety precautions and standards. Those individuals seriously injured in a construction accident often contact an experienced construction accident attorney in an attempt to receive monetary compensation for their injuries and time lost on the job.

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