Ignoring building code claims three lives: Fire Service

Three construction workers died after falling from an under-construction building in the capital's Dhanmondi area on Monday afternoon as the construction site was not following the national building code. 

Fire Service assistant director Saleh Uddin said that they recovered a body on the spot and primary investigation found that the building was being constructed without following the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 and safety steps for workers.

"The bamboo scaffolding and ropes might have become damp in the rains over the last few days, triggering the accident," he added.

Aged between 22-25 years, the victims were identified as Shafiqul, Osman and Insan. All of them hailed from Chapainawabganj, said police.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Hasinuzzaman of Dhanmondi zone said that they had fallen from a 10-storey under-construction building located at road number 12 (old 31) in Dhanmondi.

Shafiqul died on the spot, while the two others were rushed to Square Hospital immediately after the accident, where the doctors on duty declared them dead.

Abu Bakar, a caretaker of a building, said that 15-16 workers were working at the top floor and  three of them were plastering the outer wall of the building.

"They were working on a bamboo made platform outside, and suddenly the scaffolding collapsed on an under-construction balcony and then onto the street."

There were a few makeshift tea stalls and vehicles on the street, but none of the pedestrians and shop-goers or owners was injured in the incident.

Locals said that the building has been under construction for more than one and a half years. But it was stopped for months during the Covid-19 outbreak. The construction resumed after Eid-ul-Azha.

According to the banner at the construction site, the building belongs to Md Shaheen, who is financing the construction, and the engineer is Fozlul Qader.