Kasaragod: Thirteen construction workers had a narrow escape when a vehicle underpass at Periya collapsed on Saturday. The construction was part of the NH 66 widening.

The workers, atop a 6-metre-high stage, were pouring in pumpable concrete to make the slab when the supporting pipes underneath gave away, a quality assurance manager of the project said.

The incident happened at 3.23 am. According to the CCTV footage from a nearby cooperative bank, the stage first slumped and after 18 seconds collapsed entirely.

The workers used that 18-second window to run to the two abutment walls, 16.6m apart. One worker could be seen making a last-ditch dive for the abutment cap even as the stage under his feet was collapsing.

Another worker went down with the stage but managed to land on his feet and run to safety. One worker, Sonu (32) from West Bengal suffered shoulder dislocation, which was rectified at the District Hospital in Kanhangad.

The road is being built by the Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Limited (MEIL).
"The stage collapsed because the (supporting) stage pipes underneath gave away. According to the initial assessment, the workers joined old and new pipes and they did not fit properly," said

Mallikarjuna H R of LN Malviya Infra Project Pvt Ltd, the independent quality assurance company hired by MEIL and National Highways Authority of India.

He said the stage was erected to withstand 1,000 tonnes of weight. The concrete and workers weighed only 475 tonnes.

The work was almost complete when the stage collapsed in the middle. "The workers had pumped in around 90 percent of the 210 cubic metres of pumpable concrete when the stage slumped," said Mallikarjuna.

The superelevated road has a height of 6.1m at one end of the abutment wall and 6.8m at the other end. The underpass has a width of 16.6m.

Residents and traders of Periya held a protest accusing the contractor of doing shoddy work and stopping the workers from clearing the debris till officials of the NHAI arrived.

Mallikarjuna said the concrete was still wet when the stage collapsed and the accident was not a reflection of the quality of the material used.

Bekal police have registered a case against MEIL for allegedly endangering personal safety of others ( Section 336 of IPC), causing grievous hurt by endangering life or personal safety of others, and failure to ensure public safety (Section 118 (e) of the Kerala Police Act).

The section under KP Act attracts a maximum sentence of three years or a fine of Rs 10,000 or both. 

The section 336 of IPC attracts a maximum sentence of three months or a fine of Rs 250, or both; and Section 388 attracts a maximum sentence of two years or a fine of Rs 1,000 or both.