Title - Operator blamed for Metro crane mishap

Human failure was the cause for the accident at Metro Rail construction site near Pachaiyappa’s College, here, that resulted in the death of a migrant labourer and injuries to six others, according to an initial enquiry report. Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) General Manager (construction) V Somasundaram told Express on Monday that the initial finding was that the operator mishandled the crane, which resulted in the crane boom, that was holding 25 tonnes of steel rods, snap and fall on the workers. “It was human failure and not the machine which failed,” he said. Somasundaram said the crane boom failed because it was operated wrongly by the concerned person. “Any lifting device has to be perpendicular while taking the load. “But in this case it was used with a 30 degree inclination. The operator used it horizontally instead of using it perpendicularly,” said Somasundaram. He said the final report on the accident will be submitted after a week. “Once the final report is ready, we will take it up with the concerned authorities,” he said. To a query on whether CMRL is thinking of changing the contractor or sub-contractor involved in the incident, he said the aim is to take remedial measures to prevent such accidents in future. “We will take up the issue with the contractors once we get the final report,” he said. He also said that nearly 90 per cent of cranes have been certified by CMRL and the work near Pachaiyappa’s College will resume on Tuesday. He also said the safety audit report on cranes will be submitted within two days. “It will first be submitted to General Consultants and then we will get it,” he said.