KOCHI: Three men were killed and one sustained serious head injuries when a truck ran over them at the construction site of Kochi Metro Rail's Muttam yard near Aluva on late on Thursday night. The deceased were natives of Uttar Pradesh.
An official of L&T, which employed the workers, said the truck hit them at around 11.45 pm when they were returning to their work point after placing barricades on one side of the road.
"The vehicle hit the workers after hitting the barricades which were clearly placed in a visible area. Though the workers screamed to stop the vehicle it didn't stop. Unfortunately, no one noticed the registration number of the vehicle. Two workers died on the spot and the third one was declared dead at the hospital. Another sustained multiple injuries to his head and is undergoing treatment at KIMS Hospital," said an L&T official.
The deceased, all hailing from Uttar Pradesh's Sonebhadra district, were identified as Bablu Mashis (42), Umesh (23) and Soorya Kanth (32).
While Bablu Mashis and Umesh died on the spot, Soorya Kanth succumbed to his injuries at KIMS Hospital on Friday. Indra Dev 22 was injured and is undergoing treatment at the hospital.
The bodies of the deceased were handed over to relatives after post-mortem at Kalamassery Medical College on Friday. Meanwhile, executives of the DMRC and the L&T told New Indian Express that they will bear the funeral costs and cost of transporting the dead bodies to Uttar Pradesh
No breakthrough
Meanwhile, even after 24 hours, the police are yet to make any breakthrough in the case. Though they examined CCTV footages from cameras near the spot, they are yet to get a lead. "The investigation is going on in full swing. We have formed seven teams exclusively for this. The vehicle involved is a tanker lorry and the investigation has started on the basis of that. Without much delay the culprit will be nabbed," said A V.George, Ernakulam district police chief.