Crane Section Collapses at Construction Site in Kandivali West

A section of a crane collapsed at an under-construction building site in Sai Nagar, Kandivali West, on Wednesday night, crashing into a residential area. No injuries or trapped persons were reported following the mishap, though a motorcycle parked in the vicinity was damaged.

According to preliminary information, a large portion of the crane operating at the site suddenly gave way and crashed to the ground. Fire brigade and police personnel rushed to the location immediately after being alerted to assess the situation. Videos of the incident showing the fallen crane structure and police officers inspecting the scene later surfaced on the internet.

Authorities have not yet ascertained the cause of the crane collapse in Kandivali. Further assessments are underway as officials work to determine the circumstances that led to the structure falling.

The incident in Kandivali West follows another crane mishap in the city just days earlier. On August 21, around 2 am, a crane deployed during the demolition of an abandoned HDIL building near Qureshi Nagar and Samrat Ashok Nagar in Kurla collapsed onto railway overhead equipment.

In that previous incident, a hydraulic crane was being used to lift a poklane machine to the upper floors of a 17-storey building linked to a rehabilitation project for slum dwellers affected by the Mumbai airport project. The crane fell onto high-tension railway wires, slum huts, a road, an MHADA compound wall, and several vehicles, injuring 10 people. Eight of the injured were admitted to Sion Hospital and two to Kurla Bhabha Hospital.

Following the Kurla incident, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority imposed a penalty of Rs 25 lakh on the contractor, M/s Total Construction Pvt Ltd, and directed them to cover medical expenses and provide compensation for damages. The back-to-back incidents have heightened concerns over safety standards at construction and demolition sites across Mumbai.