Visakhapatnam: 11 Workers Crushed To Death After Massive Crane Collapses At Hindustan Shipyard

The accident took place earlier in the day when workers were carrying out an inspection of the crane used to carry equipment for shipbuilding.

Visakhapatnam: At least 11 people are said to be injured in a major accident which took place at Visakhapatnam's Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) where a heavy duty crane crashed, trapping several under the debris. As per reports, one person has been critically injured in the accident. TV visuals showed the giant 75-tonne crane falling on the ground with a loud thud. ALSO READ | Kejriwal's 5 Point 'Delhi Model' To Be Implemented In Other States To Curb The Spread Of Covid-19

The accident took place earlier in the day when workers were carrying out an inspection of the crane used to carry equipment for shipbuilding. It is being said that the massive crane crumbled and suddenly crashed to the ground trapping the workers beneath.


"As many as 11 people were killed at the Hindustan Shipyard Limited premises here on Saturday when a huge rail-mounted crane collapsed during a trial run," a top district official said. Bodies of the victims have been retrieved and sent for post-mortem.

Four of the victims were employees of HSL while the rest belonged to a contracting agency, District Collector Vinay Chand informed while speaking to reporters. It is said it is the first such mishap at Hindustan Shipyard.

Of the 11 deceased, four were employees of HSL, including a supervisor, while the other seven were workers of three contracting agencies, the Collector told reporters after inspecting the mishap site

The mishap occurred when the victims were engaged in erecting the crane, Police Commissioner RK Meena told news agency PTI. According to Police, three of the bodies were recovered and identified. Rescue and relief operations are underway as few people are still suspected to trapped under the debris.



While HSL constituted an internal committee, headed by its Director (Operations), the Collector formed an independent committee of engineers, comprising heads of departments of civil, mechanical and electrical engineering of Andhra Engineering College, to investigate the cause of the crane accident.

"The committees will probe if there is any human negligence that caused the mishap," the Collector said. Anupam Cranes of Mumbai erected the jetty crane at HSL two years ago, but it was not made operational. The company later backed out of the contract and HSL subsequently engaged Greenfield Company to operationalise the crane.

HSL also contracted Lead Engineers for maintenance and Squad7 for regular operation of the crane. The other deceased were three workers of Greenfield, two of Lead Engineers and one of Squad7. One victim is yet to be identified.