Gammon India responsible for metro crane mishap: Panel

NEW DELHI: A probe panel looking into the crane mishap at a Delhi Metro site during debris clearance today held the contractor Gammon India responsible for the "unusual" incident which it said was due to "mismanagement and lack of professionalism".

"We have received the report on the snapping of cranes in Zamrudpur. It holds contractor's mismanagement and non-professional approach as the reasons for the mishap," Delhi Metro chief E Sreedharan told reporters.

The DMRC has appointed B P Singh, an expert on cranes and former general manager of NALCO, to inquire into the July 13 mishap when a crane toppled over and booms of two other cranes broke during site-clearing operations at Zamrudpur.

Sreedharan said Gammon India used four cranes at the same time which was not the practice. "Two cranes should have been used instead of four. Once you use four and if one of them develops a snag, then everything goes wrong.

"The report also said that the clearance of girder from the site should have been done in two stages. There is a sheer error in judgement. Fortunately, only four cranes were lost but it is a very major incident," he said.

Delhi Metro officials said the probe report on the July 11 accident when an under-construction bridge collapsed in Zamrudpur killing six persons is likely to be submitted by tomorrow.