BENGALURU: Three workers died, five sustained injuries and at least 20 others had a narrow escape when hundreds of cartons kept on heavyduty steel racks crashed on them in Seegehalli, near Whitefield, on Thursday.The deceased have been identified as Farooq, 22, from Koraluru, near Hosakote; Subash, 26, and Gyan Darshan, 25, residents of Seegehalli and from Odisha.When they heard the creaking sound of the falling steel frame around 12.30pm on Thursday, labourers at the Seegehalli warehouse of a logistics firm ran out of the premises, fearing for their lives. Eight workers were found buried under hundreds of stuffed cartons that were loaded on to heavy-duty steel racks, police said.Four workers — Kuldeep, in charge of the warehouse; Janaki Ram, of Tirumalashettihalli Cross; Narayanaswamy, of Channasandra; and Bahubali, from Nepal — were pulled out from under the boxes in the nick of time. They were rushed to hospital before police and rescue teams arrived at the spot.Deputy commissioner of police Abdul Ahad said they have registered a criminal negligence case under IPC Section 304 and arrested the company’s business head Ajay Kanwar and site superintendent Amanullah.Police said at least 30 labourers were working in the warehouse when an employee noticed a heavy-gauge steel rack stuffed with loaded cartons started titling dangerously, unleashing a domino effect on the rest of the racks leading to the tragedy.In an operation conducted by the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and fire and emergency services, Ramakanth, 25, from Odisha, was brought out safely at 2.30pm. Police officer Abdul Ahad said the five injured are undergoing treatment. Police shifted the bodies of the three workers to Vydehi Medical College Hospital for autopsy on Friday morning.Farooq, one of the three victims, joined the warehouse only six months ago. After learning about the incident, his friends and relatives rushed to the spot at 5pm and urged police to rescue him at the earliest or they would take the lead. Tension gripped the area before Farooq was pulled out from under a heap of boxes — dead. Pasha, a family member, said rescue teams lost precious time in launching the operation.What led to the collapse at the Whitehouse warehousing unit that caused three deaths? Preliminary police probe suggests heavyduty steel racks had not been properly anchored to the ground, and were found to be wobbly. They started giving way after stuffed cartons were kept on them.“Anchoring of racks was a substandard job. The warehouse that’s about 40ft high had racks right up to 30ft or more. Employees had overloaded the racks with plastic crates and containers filled with clothes, footwear, snacks and pet food,” a fire and emergency department officer said.Police said labourers working between the racks which were kept only a few inches apart were stuck between the frames, leading to deaths of three workers, possibly due to asphyxiation. The warehouse was built and owned by Manjunath, from Seegehalli, who leased it to Holisol in July 2017. Suresh Babu, president, Seegehalli gram panchayat, said it was built on 1 acre of land.

Stay updated with all the Bangalore Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.