A hydraulic crane allegedly fell at a construction site in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, killing two migrant workers from Odisha’s Ganjam district and injuring three others, according to a report by the Times of India. The incident occurred on Thursday, with the injured workers receiving treatment and the deceased workers’ families seeking administrative help to bring their bodies home.
The workers who died were identified as Santosh Pradhan, 29, from Tambapur village in Patrapur block, and K Siba, 31, from Chiladi village in Chikiti block. Both were working at the construction site in Guntur when the hydraulic crane fell, the report said.
The identities and conditions of the three injured workers were not provided in the available report. It was also not immediately clear from the report what caused the crane to fall, whether the equipment had undergone a safety inspection or whether any construction agency had been held responsible.
The deaths have brought attention to the risks faced by migrant construction workers who travel across state borders for employment. In this case, the workers were from Ganjam but were working in Andhra Pradesh, leaving their families dependent on coordination between local authorities in the two states for the post-accident procedures and transportation of the bodies.
Family members of the deceased appealed to the Ganjam district administration to ensure that the bodies were brought to their respective villages for the last rites. Labour officer in Berhampur, Subhalaxmi Behera, said field staff had spoken to the families on Friday.
“The post-mortem was conducted on Friday. The bodies are expected to reach their respective villages on Saturday morning after all paperwork,” Behera said, according to the Times of India report.
The post-mortem was completed on Friday, and the bodies were expected to reach Tambapur and Chiladi on Saturday morning once the required paperwork was completed. The report did not specify the nature of the injuries suffered by the three surviving workers or provide details of their treatment facility.
The incident also leaves unanswered questions about the construction site’s safety arrangements, equipment maintenance and the compliance measures in place for workers operating around heavy machinery. No response from the construction company, site operator or authorities in Guntur was included in the available report.
For the families in Ganjam, the immediate administrative priority is the return of the bodies and support for the injured workers. The next reported step is the transportation of Santosh Pradhan and K Siba to their villages after completion of the paperwork.
