New Delhi, July 22 (IANS) A labourer was crushed to death when a steel beam fell on him at a Delhi Metro construction site in west Delhi Wednesday after six people were killed in two accidents at Metro sites in the last 10 days. Delhi Metro chief E. Sreedharan, however, maintained that the accident rate was still low compared to other countries.
The accident took place at the under-construction Ashok Park Metro station in west Delhi around 5.45 a.m. The station is part of the upcoming Inderlok-Mundka line.

According to Delhi Metro officials, Vicky Singh, a 22-year-old construction worker, was guiding a crane when he was hit by the steel beam that was being lifted by the crane.

“The beam hit the worker on his shoulder, causing an injury. He was rushed to the hospital but he expired. Let me clarify that it was not a major accident, but there was a casualty. There is a tendency for a big reaction when it has anything to do with the Metro,” Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) spokesperson Anuj Dayal said.

“It appears that the accident took place because one sling of the crane attached to the steel beam broke. Prima facie, it appears that the sling was not certified by the contractor,” Sreedharan said in a statement.

The chief project manager of DMRC and other officials were investigating the accident and an FIR was lodged with police.

“Initial reports suggest that it was a mistake of the contractor. Suitable action will be taken after the investigation is over,” a Metro official told IANS.

On July 12, six people were killed and 15 were injured when an elevated section of the Delhi Metro track collapsed in Zamrudpur in south Delhi. A day later, six people were injured in another accident at the same site while clearing debris of the previous accident.

But Sreedharan stressed that the DMRC accident rate was low compared to other countries.

“The DMRC accident rate is still very low as compared to international standards as Singapore has 1.1 accidents per million man-hours, London Underground has 0.32 accidents and Delhi Metro Phase-II has 0.4 accidents,” Sreedharan said in a statement.

He added that some major international accidents involving casualties include Heathrow high-speed line (UK) where 21 people died in a tunnel collapse and Singapore where seven-eight people died in a similar accident.

Talking about the July 13 crane failure, Sreedharan said that B.P. Singh, an ex-general manager of NALCO, has submitted his report on the accident.

“He said the failure happened because of the contractor’s mismanagement and non-professionalism as employing four cranes for lifting one object was wrong. Two cranes should have been employed and the damaged launching girder lowered from one side by these two cranes in two stages,” Sreedharan said quoting Singh’s report.

Clarifying the Comptroller and Auditor General’s accusation that Delhi Metro has poor quality control measures, Sreedharan said: “DMRC carries out 500-600 tests everyday and, therefore, witnesses (sic) all the critical tests as it would require a huge army to witness each and every of these tests which is not practical.”

“It is the responsibility of the main contractor to set up a safety and quality organisation. Material are taken from reliable sources such as SAIL and already tested by SAIL through an elaborate procedure…. However, material from private sources are tested.”

A four-member inquiry committee, headed by Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi professor A.K. Nagpal, is yet to submit a probe report on the July 12 accident. It was given 10 days to complete its investigation and the deadline expired Wednesday.