Two men working at an under-construction high-rise in Sector 132 died after the scaffolding at the site collapsed Monday morning. The bodies have been sent for autopsy.

The incident occurred at the site of ATS Bouquet, a commercial venture of the group. According to workers at the site, the scaffolding collapsed after an almost 15-foot tall piece of one of the columns collapsed onto the scaffolding around 10.30am.

“The scaffolding came tumbling down and brought both of them down with it. They were doing plaster work on the 14th floor and were the only two atop the scaffolding at the time of the collapse. They were trapped in the rubble and it took us some time to dig them out. However, it was too late by then,” Shahid, a worker at the site, said.

The deceased have been identified as Murtuza (30) and Sonu (24). Both were from Malda in West Bengal and had been working at the site since almost two months. “We all had been working at a different site earlier. Their families live in West Bengal,” Shahid said.

In a statement released by the group, ATS said the accident took place while the scaffolding contractor was removing the shuttering from a building which was almost finished. “Two workers of the ATS family have passed away in spite of the fact that all safety measures were in place when the unfortunate incident happened. ATS is with the aggrieved family and will support them and are fully cooperating with the police and authorities,” Getamber Anand, chairman and managing director, ATS Infrastruture, said.

Another worker at the site said the boundary of an adjoining school was also damaged when the structure collapsed.

“They took the victims to Jaypee hospital where the two were declared brought dead, after which the bodies were sent for an autopsy. Post the autopsy, the bodies were handed over to the other workers who will take them to the respective homes of the deceased,” Hansraj Bhadoria, station house officer, Expressway police station, said.

He added that no complaint has been received in this regard yet.

Police officers also said the exact cause of the accident is yet unknown. “However, this is for sure that something heavy fell on to the scaffolding. What and how, that is still under investigation,” said the SHO.

The city magistrate said an FIR should definitely be registered in this regard. “If it hasn’t happened already, it will happen eventually. Almost Rs 13.75 lakh as compensation has been approved for the victims. They were young and according to labour laws, the younger the victim, the higher the compensation,” Shailendra Mishra, Noida city magistrate, said.

First Published: Oct 30, 2018 14:09 IST