A shuttering structure at a construction site in Shahidnagar, in Ghaziabad’s Sahibabad area, collapsed on Sunday evening, trapping people beneath the debris and sending 11 people to hospital. Women and children were among those rescued, while no deaths had been reported in the initial account published by Jagran.
The incident occurred at a plot measuring about 200 square yards, where work was under way to install a roof slab for a warehouse. The shuttering gave way while people were present at the site, bringing down the temporary support structure and trapping those in its path.
Initial information suggested that three to four people could be buried under the debris. As rescue operations progressed, around 11 people were taken out and shifted to hospital for treatment. The report did not provide the names of those rescued or details of their injuries.
The collapse was reported within the limits of Sahibabad police station. Relief and rescue work began after information about the incident reached the authorities. The available account did not specify which agency led the operation, whether the construction site had received approval, or whether officials had inspected the structure before the collapse.
Shuttering is a temporary support system used while concrete slabs are cast and allowed to gain strength. Its failure can expose workers and other people at a site to falling concrete, steel and construction material. The report, however, did not establish why the structure failed or whether the incident resulted from a design, material, loading or execution problem.
The incident also highlights the public-safety risks created when construction activity takes place in dense neighbourhoods. A warehouse was being built on a relatively small urban plot, and people other than construction workers were present when the structure collapsed. The supplied report did not clarify whether the people rescued were workers, visitors, residents or passers-by.
No fatality had been reported at the time of publication. Further information was awaited on the condition of those admitted to hospital and on the cause of the collapse. Authorities are also expected to establish the circumstances under which the shuttering failed and whether any construction-safety or building-permission rules were breached.
