PUNE: Two workers were killed on the spot after a pile of 10 marble slabs, each weighing about 250kg, fell on them while they were removing those from a steel stand for flooring work on the ground floor of the under-construction Ritz Carlton hotel project on the Airport road in Yerawada on Wednesday morning.The Yerawada police are investigating the circumstances that led to the fall of the marble slabs. Witnesses and workers handling the slabs told TOI that one of the four legs of the steel stand suddenly broke down.This created an imbalance and the slabs came down on the two workers between 10.30am and 11am, they said. Both the victims were standing in the middle of a row of eight workers, who were removing the slabs from the stand.Citing preliminary probe, Yerawada police senior inspector Dinkar Mohite said, “The marble and the granite slabs were kept in a vertical position in equal numbers on either sides of the two stands adjoining each other. The slabs were supposed to be removed in a manner so as to maintain the balance of the stand. But the workers removed a few slabs from one side. This might have created the imbalance.”The police identified the deceased as Govind Mithailal Prajapati (22), a resident of Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh, and Laxman Ramratan Durve (26), who was from Bodla district in Chhattisgarh. Both were living in the labour camp near Bramha Sun City in Wadgaonsheri. The work at the site was stopped following the accident.The police have booked marble contractor Arvind Chauhan, who is proprietor of Shriji Realty firm on Karve Road, and the site supervisor, who could not be identified immediately, for negligence causing death and common intention.The FIR lodged by Sukhsingh Dongru Maravi (20), one of the workers at the site, stated that no proper measures were taken for storage and handling of the heavy marble and granite slabs and no experienced workers were engaged for removing the slabs from the stand. “The resultant carelessness and negligence led to the accident,” the FIR stated. No arrest was reported till Wednesday night.Chauhan told TOI, “I was on a visit to our other sites in Warje and Baner when I learnt about the accident. I reached the accident site around 3.30pm. We had taken adequate safety measures as all the workers were wearing helmets, jackets and safety shoes. It was unfortunate that the accident occurred. The families of the deceased workers will get accident insurance claims. We have all our workers insured.”The under-construction Ritz Carlton has been listed under the hospitality project portfolio of Pune’s luxury realtor Panchshil’s website. Panchshil’s chairman, Atul Chordia, and director, Sagar Chordia, did not answer the phone calls. They also did not respond to the text and WhatsApp messages till the time of going to the press.The project developer had hired Shriji Realty for the marble flooring work and also for fixing granite slabs on the side walls. The firm had engaged around 80 workers for the work at the site.Dharam Singh Durve, one of the eight workers involved in the slab removal process and who witnessed the accident, said, “We were following proper procedure while handling the slabs. But one of the legs of the stand broke and the resultant imbalance led to the pile of slabs falling down. Govind and Laxman, who were standing in the middle, came under the slabs.”Durve said, “As an instant reaction, five other workers and I tried to lift the slab. But, they were too heavy for us to move. We raised an alarm and called other workers. Almost all the 80-odd workers got into the act of rescuing the two trapped under the slabs.”He said, “Laxman’s marriage was fixed in March and he left behind his parents and a brother at his native place. Govind is survived by his parents.”Chandrashekhar Waru, one of the supervisors hired by Shriji Realty, said, “I was at other site in Wagholi when I learnt about the accident and rushed to the spot. The workers are now demanding compensation. We have assured them that they are covered under the accident insurance scheme.”Inspector Mohite said the two workers were rushed to the Sassoon General Hospital before the matter was informed to the police. “Both the workers were declared ‘brought dead’ by the hospital authorities. The cause of their death was cited as multiple head and body injuries. A post-mortem was conducted and their bodies were being sent to their respective native places.”

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