Brief of the Incident:
- Development work of new “A” Site Retail Outlet at Bhinga-Sirsiya road (SH -96 A), district – Shrawasti was awarded to M/s Lucknow Infrastructures. Site boundary wall and land development was completed by the RO Dealer and approximately 5-meter filling was done in the proposed RO area.
- Construction work of facilities like sales building, canopy foundation, kerb wall, etc. was in progress at site.
- For construction of canopy, casting of 3 nos. of column footings had already been completed and reinforcement work of canopy column footing was under progress for 4th column (on roadside of RO). Based on the site conditions, footing design was done with the depth of footing as 6.0 meters. from the finished ground level.
- On 17.02.2021, two contract workers were working inside 6-meter-deep pit of 4th column. One of the workers was sitting at base of the column pit and binding the iron bars while other one was standing and helping him.
- At around 17:00 hrs, one of the pit walls collapsed, due to which the worker, who was sitting at base got covered completely and other one got covered up to the nose under the collapsed soil.
- They were rescued manually by other workers at site and were taken to hospital in an ambulance.
- Contract worker who got covered completely under soil succumbed to his injuries and was declared dead by hospital at around 19:30 hrs on 17.02.21. Other worker was admitted at hospital and was discharged next day after primary treatment.
Also Read: EXCAVATION SAFETY
Cause:
- Cause of the Incident is collapse of soil during reinforcement work inside column foundation pit.
- Loose compaction of the earth filling causing collapse of one of the walls around pit.
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Contributory factors for collapse of the edge of the pit are:
- Vibration effect of heavy vehicle passing through the adjacent road.
- Pressure build-up of the excavated soil piled up adjacent to the pit.
- Poor cohesiveness of the soil used for the earth filling
Major Lapse of this fatal accident:
- Proper compaction was not carried out while earth filling.
- Neither shoring and strutting of the pit walls was done as per standard nor excavation was carried out in steps, maintaining proper angle of repose.
- Considering the site conditions, multiple escape routes were not provided.
Lesson Learnt:
- Wherever earth filling is required, it should be done in layers by recommended material, with proper layer wise compaction.
- The earth filling should be inspected and tested by the competent agency at various stages and reports to be checked by client safety.
- Wherever earth filling at site is more than 2.0 meters, alternate options of foundations to be explored based on the local conditions and excavations to be done in steps.
- Shoring and strutting of the pit walls to be ensured before commencement of work inside the pit. Alternatively, pits should be excavated in steps, maintaining proper angle of repose.
- Workers should not be allowed to work in confined space for longer time. If it is unavoidable, it should be done under direct supervision. At least two escape routes in opposite directions to be provided.
- Adherence to Work Permit System should be ensured as per guidelines and Job Safety Analysis should be conducted before start of the work.
- Site photographs should be sent to the concerned Divisional Office and Engineering In-charge for regular monitoring of work at site.
- Wherever compaction is not done properly during earth filling at the Retail Outlets, there is chance of dislocation / settlement of already installed tanks. To avoid future hazards, additional precautions for the tanks should be taken in such conditions.
Also Read: NEAR MISS – EXCAVATION
Also Read: SCAFFOLDING NEAR MISS
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