Two civil engineers from TN among dead in crane accident on Maharashtra expressway
A gantry crane was launching box girders at a site in Khutadi Sarlambe village in Shahpur taluk when it suddenly collapsed, killing 20 labourers and site engineers on the ground.
Published: 01st August 2023 10:47 PM | Last Updated: 01st August 2023 11:16 PM | A+A A-
NDRF personnel during a search and rescue operation following a crane accident along the under-construction Samruddhi Expressway, in New Thane, Aug 1, 2023. (Photo | PTI)
NAGAPATTINAM/KRISHNAGIRI: Two civil engineers from Tamil Nadu were among the 20 people killed in the Samruddhi Expressway crane accident near Shahpur in Thane district of Maharashtra shortly after midnight on Tuesday.
According to sources, a gantry crane was launching box girders at a site in Khutadi Sarlambe village in Shahpur taluk when it suddenly collapsed, killing labourers and site engineers on the ground.
Samruddhi Mahamarg, officially known as 'Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg', is a 701-km expressway connecting Mumbai and Nagpur. The expressway is being constructed and opened in phases.
Kannan Vedharathinam (23) from Ayakkaranpulam-2 village in Vedaranyam block in Nagapattinam district died in the accident. Kannan, a civil engineering graduate, was working with Mumbai-based construction company VSL Private Limited as a graduate engineer trainee.
Kannan's family members met Nagapattinam District Collector Johny Tom Varghese and requested that his body be brought to his native village. "My son went to Mumbai to work and earn for our family due to impoverishment. We request that his body be brought back and that action is taken against the company which has ignored our requests for communication. We also request relief for his loss," said his father. The Collector assured the family of support.
The other victim from the state was identified as E Santhosh (36) of VIP Nagar in Boganapalli panchayat in Krishnagiri. Santhosh was a civil engineer working for 12 years at the company engaged in constructing the Samruddhi Expressway. Three years ago, he was shifted to Maharashtra from Delhi. He had planned to get a transfer to Chennai in September.
Santhosh is survived by his wife Rubi (28), a five-year-old son and a six-month-old daughter. His family is residing in Krishnagiri. According to his family members, his body will reach Bengaluru late on Tuesday night and will reach the village in the wee hours of Wednesday.
