COIMBATORE: A 23-year-old youth lost his legs in a garbage shredder at the Vellalore dump yard while he was cleaning inside the machine. The incident happened on Thursday morning at the bio-mining plant inside the dump yard which is maintained bythe Coimbatore city municipal corporation (CCMC). The victim was identified as M Sathya of Mahalingapuram near Vellalore, He works as labourer on contract basis in the the bio-mining plant.
According to police, the incident took place around 10 am when Sathya was operating the machine. There was a power failure and Sathya got into the hopper of the shredder to clean the blades that shred waste materials. He allegedly failed to turn off the shredder before getting inside. When power supply resumed, the machine started working and Sathya got trapped, said police.
Sathya was standing on the blades and the machine started to pull him down, crushing his legs. His legs above the knee were almost crushed by the sharp blades before others heard his cries and turned off the machine, said police.
After being alerted by the workers, Fire and Rescue services personnel from Coimbatore South Station rushed to the spot and pulled him out around 10.25 am. He was admitted in a private hospital and his condition is critical, police added. The contractor is paying for the treatment, sources said.
Podanur police, who investigated the incident, have sought legal opinion for registering a case as it was said to be negligence by the injured person. The CCMC has also began an inquiry with the private firm that manages the plant in allowing a worker to clean the shredder without safety measures, said sources.