As many as 17 workers were killed and two others injured when a girder machine collapsed during construction of the Samruddhi Expressway in Thane district late last night. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condoled loss of lives due to tragic mishap. Prime Minister Modi announced an ex-gratia of 2 lakh rupees to the next of kin of each deceased and 50,000 for those injured.
According to officials, the crane fell on the slab of a bridge in Shahapur tehsil of Thane district around 1:30 am. The machine is a special-purpose mobile gantry crane used in bridge construction. Chief Minister of Maharashtra Eknath Shinde has expressed grief over the unfortunate incident in which 17 people lost their lives. The Chief Minister has announced a compensation of 5 lakh rupees each for the families of the deceased workers. He has further said that the state government will bear the expense of the treatment of the injured.