Zubair Qureshi
Two labourers were killed and three others injured on Saturday after the shuttering of a pillar at the under-construction Bhara Kahu flyover in the federal capital’s Bhara Kahu area collapsed.
As per the initial report of the police, the shuttering collapsed due to a collision of a truck with the pillar. The driver of the truck was later arrested by the police and an investigation is underway.
The police said that the condition of the injured people, who were shifted to Polyclinic Hospital, was said to be unstable, while a rescue operation at the site of the incident was underway. They said that senior officials of the police and administration — including Islamabad Inspector General (IG) Dr Akbar Nasir and Chief Commissioner Noorul Amin Mengal — rushed to the site after the incident.The police spokesperson held that the district administration had ordered a bigger crane to the site, keeping in view the possibility of more labourers being stuck under the rubble.
The two labourers were taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), where one succumbed to injuries. Three other labourers were taken to Polyclinic Hospital where one could not survive as well.
According to a post on social media by the Islamabad police a committee, which will be headed by Islamabad’s Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon, has been constituted to “review all aspects related to the incident”.
Mengal, who is also the Capital Development Authority (CDA) chairman, said that according to the preliminary investigation, “two to three huge trolleys (trucks) had passed by the bridge between 2-3am and had hit it.” He added that both “safety and traffic protocols” had been violated and a committee had been formed to find out “who was responsible so they could take legal action against them”.
Saying that the project had entered a “critical stage”, Mengal said heavy traffic needed to be shut down. Mentioning construction work still left, he said the administration would have to enforce stricter rules and “the citizens would also have to bear difficulties” for a while.A CDA spokesperson meanwhile, said further details would be revealed once the committee finds them out. Talking about the Bhara Kahu bypass project, he termed it a “very complicated project” as it was a “challenge to close the one-link” that leads to the northern areas.
