The victims were working on the Bhara Kahu flyover project when shuttering erected for construction of a reinforced concrete column collapsed while the concrete was being poured.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday 25th February.
The 5.6 km-long Bhara Kahu bypass extends from Malpur and culminates on Murree Road near the Jugi bus stop from where the one-kilometre flyover will carry the road to end of the local bazaar at Murree.
According to local sources, Murree Road had been closed to heavy traffic during work on the Bhara Kahu project and an alternative route had been provided for heavy traffic. Despite that, traffic police allowed large vehicles, including passenger buses and trucks, to pass through the construction site unhindered.
Witnesses reported that the site was not cordoned off even while contractors began placing concrete in the prepared formwork. On the night of the accident, more than thirty fully-loaded goods vehicles drove under the half-built bridge, according to reports.
Islamabad’s chief commissioner Noorul Amin Mengal said that according to the preliminary investigation, “two to three huge trolleys [trucks] had passed by the bridge between 2am and 3am and had hit it”.
He added that both “safety and traffic protocols” had been violated and a committee had been formed to find out “who was responsible so they could take legal action against them”.
Islamabad deputy commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon will now head an inquiry to “review all aspects related to the incident”.
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