Crane operator, contractor sued over Uttara girder disaster

Five of a family were killed when a girder fell on a car from a crane during work on the Bus Rapid Transit project

A case has been registered over the deaths of five family members who were crushed in their car when a girder lifted by a crane under the Bus Rapid Transit project fell on the vehicle in Dhaka's Uttara.

The crane operator, the contracting firm, China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC), and safety officers on the site have been implicated in the case started by the victims' family on Monday, according to Uttara West Police Station chief Md Mohsin.

They are facing charges of negligence, he said. Efforts are underway to arrest the crane operator.

The incident occurred near the Paradise Tower on Jashimuddin Road around 4:30 pm on Monday.

The crane, carrying an 80-tonne girder lost balance, tilted to one side and dropped it on the Gazipur-bound car, according to the police.

Seven people were in the car at the time. The car’s owner Rubel Mia, 60, his wife Fahima, 40, Fahima’s sister Jharna, 28, and Jharna’s two children, Jannat, 6, and Zakaria, 2, were trapped inside for three hours and later died.

The other two riders, Rubel’s son Hridoy, 26, and Hridoy’s wife Riya Moni, 21, were in hospital care. They got married on Saturday.