Three cranes crash in further blow to construction of Delhi’s metro

THREE cranes crashed yesterday while trying to lift a steel girder which had fallen at New Delhi’s metro rail construction site, a day after six people were killed in the first accident.

A Delhi Metro spokesman refuted reports that people had been injured in the latest incident.

The truck-mounted cranes had lifted the massive orange girder off the ground when they buckled under the weight.

Live television pictures showed the crane arms shearing off the multi-wheeled trucks, one of which ended up in a vertical position.

The truck ended up resting on its nose with the underbelly in the air, exposing its wheels. The crane’s arms lay flattened and mangled. Parts of the truck could be seen falling from the upended machine and people ran to safety.

Joint commissioner of police Ajay Kashyap told reporters that four cranes were trying to lift the 300-ton girder when one of them malfunctioned. The other three cranes could not handle the weight and buckled, he said.

It was not clear how many operators were in the cabins of the three cranes.

“There have been no injuries to anybody. Some TV channels have been flashing four injuries or six injuries. But I am confirming there have been no injuries,” said Delhi Metro spokesman Aunj Dayal.

The accident happened on the southern line being constructed for the New Delhi Metro system, which already has three operational lines.

The metro is the pride of the city of 14 million people, where commuters were long forced to rely on rickshaws, motorcycles or smoke-belching buses.

Sunday’s accident occurred on a particularly tricky section, where a metal cantilever was being raised to lift a 300-ton prefabricated concrete segment of the bridge, Delhi Metro Rail Corp chief E Sreedharan told reporters.

The entire structure tumbled down in a V-shaped pile, crushing workers underneath. Six were killed and 13 injured.

Metro spokesman Anuj Dayal said it appeared cracks had developed on a pillar cap, which caused a section of the bridge to be displaced.

New Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit appointed a four-member expert panel, comprising two engineering professors and two top metro officials. They have been asked to submit a report within 10 days.

She also rejected the resignation offered by Sreedharan, who inspected the accident site yesterday, hours before the crane collapse.

Sreedharan has been hailed as a modern-day hero for his integrity in making the metro a reality.

Its first line opened on schedule about seven years ago — an almost unheard-of feat in India, where corruption-related overruns, shoddy construction and lax safety standards are common.

Authorities are rushing to complete the metro system ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, but urban development minister S Jaipal Reddy said the government would “never compromise the quality of work just for the sake” of the games.

He said work on the southern line would be delayed by three months but the project would meet its deadline.

“Our concern for the Commonwealth Games will not be allowed to compromise the quality,” he said in parliament.