News
Chinese construction worker remanded over accident that killed Lankan colleage
View(s):A Chinese worker at a construction site in Kollupitiya was arrested after a Sri Lankan employee was killed when a metal bar accidentally dropped by the foreign worker fell on the local worker’s head.
The incident occurred at a building site at R.A. De Mel Mawatha, Kollupitiya, where a 33-story building was under construction.
An eyewitness, Safety Officer-Engineer of the Chinese company, Gamanpila Arachchige Isara Sriwantha told a Coroner’s court inquiry that the Chinese worker was throwing planks from the 33rd floor to the slab below, when he accidentally threw a near-10 ft metal bar, which fell on the head of a bar bender working on the 3rd floor. “A safety net had been fixed above the floor to arrest falling objects. However, the heavy metal pole broke through the safety net and crushed the worker’s helmet,” he said.
The victim, Ratnayake Mudiyanselage Pradeep Ranweera, a father of two, residing at Padawiya Sri Pura, was admitted to a private hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. Â Judicial Medical Officer Kogal Shankar said death was due to a heavy metal bar falling on to the head and causing serious injuries to the brain.
Officer of the Kollupitiya Police K. Jayalath said the Chinese worker was produced before Fort Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne and remanded till March 2.