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Mishap at Dubai airport kills eight workers
In what was the first major incident ever to occur at Dubai International Airport
A massive steel structure collapsed at the Terminal 3 construction site leaving eight workers dead and at least 45 injured, three of them critically.
The Dubai Police have promised a thorough investigation into the tragic accident which occurred at the under construction Terminal 3 at 10.45am yesterday.
According to eyewitnesses and workers of the construction company Al Naboodah Laing Rourke, a steel wall — estimated at 16 metres in height and 200 metres in width — collapsed when a moving crane accidentally ‘tipped’ it over, trapping the unsuspecting workers beneath the steel cage. At the time of the accident, over 300 people were working at the particular site while over 5,000 workers, employed by the company, are working round-the-clock to complete the construction work on time, say sources.
The Dubai Civil Aviation said that there were only 17 casualties, while eyewitnesses, police and hospital sources said that the number of the dead and injured could be much higher. Soon after the incident, the Dubai Police cordoned off the site completely, making it impossible for the media to access the area. Most of the workers are said to be from the subcontinent.
“Many of us were caught off guard. While several managed to run, many of our compatriots were trapped beneath the steel structure. We strongly believe that many of them could have died or have been severely injured,” said the workers.
Firm tightlipped about the incident
Meanwhile, in an act of defiance, a company spokesperson said, “At the moment, we are not interested in giving a comment to the Press. The higher ups of the company are currently in a meeting deciding about the compensation figures, the details of which would be released today.”
The UAE-British consortium Al Naboodah Laing last year won a multi-million dollar engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract under the four-billion-dollar airport expansion. The package covers construction of the second concourse, third terminal and car buildings. The Dubai Airport is currently being expanded at a cost of $4.1 billion to include a third terminal, exclusively for Emirates Airlines passengers, as well as a cargo mega-terminal.
A statement issued by the Dubai Civil Aviation (DCA) said, “Around 10.45am on Monday, during the preparation of a wall, a section of the reinforcement cage fell down trapping workers. Emergency personnel responded immediately and rushed to the site. Twelve workers were rescued and sent to Rashid and Baraha hospitals with injuries while five succumbed in the incident. This is the first major incident to ever occur at Dubai International Airport during construction.
Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Department of Civil Aviation and Chairman of Emirates Group, commented: “It is a tragic situation for all of us at the Department of Civil Aviation. I extend my heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased workers. We will conduct a full investigation into the accident. We have an extremely strict and most professionally controlled Quality Assurance and Quality Control systems in place here. We have three independent safety bodies — one controlled by the contractor, one by the consultant and one by the DCA. We would like to reinforce the fact that safety of all our people working at Dubai International Airport is top most priority. The incident has no impact on airport operations. The airport is continuing to work as normal.”
Victims mainly from the subcontinent
According to the details furnished by eyewitnesses, the majority of the victims are believed to be Indians and Pakistanis. Speaking to Khaleej Times, they said that at least 50 people were trapped underneath the collapsed steel wall, with seriously injured.
Iqbaljit, a worker from Punjab, India, said that his friend was among the injured and he himself had seen three bodies of fellow workers being taken away by emergency personnel.
“I was working near the accident site at about 10.30am this morning when I heard a loud sound. Everybody started rushing towards the site where the steel structure collapsed and there was panic all around. My friend was working on that particular site that day and I was quite worried about his safety. Thankfully enough, he managed to escape with a broken arm and a few scratches,” he recounted. Some workers also tried to pull out the injured from the rubble rather unsuccessfully.
“I was working near the site when the accident occurred. I rushed to the place and tried to help some of the victims but many of them were trapped under heavy steel rods and I was unable to do much,” said Mohammed, a Pakistani worker.
Another worker estimated that at least 200 workers were working at the construction site with a majority of them hailing from Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Kerela. “There were many workers from India and Paksitan. We were working on this particular steel wall for the past two months and our contractors told us to speed up the job. The workers were trying to hurriedly finish up their job. Whatever happened, happened very quickly,” said Swami Nath, a worker from India. Hundreds of workers in blue overalls could be seen crowding around the accident site. The construction company soon allowed the remaining workers to leave the job and return to their living quarters.
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