A worker has died after a portion of an under-construction tunnel on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway collapsed on Saturday.
Three other people were also injured in the sudden collapse of a median side vertical wall at a cut and cover section in the Kota district of Rajasthan.
The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) said the wall had been protected and stabilised with shotcrete and rock bolts in accordance with approved design drawings. The incident occurred during reinforcement binding activities, and all workers were equipped with the necessary PPE.
“Rescue efforts were immediately initiated, and four workers were rescued from the debris. Unfortunately, despite best efforts, one worker succumbed to serious injuries could not be saved,” the ministry said in a statement.
A penalty of Rs. 50 lacs (US$64,300) has been imposed on the contractor DilipBuildcon Ltd and Altis-Holding Corporation (DBL-AHC JV) and a Show Cause Notice has been issued to the team leader of the authority engineer, ICT in JV with Hexa Co and in association with Nokang Infra Pvt Ltd, for lapses of safety measures.
MoRTH has established an investigation team which will visit the site today.
Some sections of the 1,390km-long, eight-lane expressway between India’s two largest cities are already open.
