Six construction workers were killed in the Gulf emirate of Sharjah when an overloaded external lift fell seven storeys, newspapers reported Tuesday.
Pakistanis Ali Dad Shah, Mohammad Azad and Zeb Ullah, Indians Mansha Raam and Darhinder Kumar and Thai national Le Binh were all declared dead late Monday, the Gulf News said.
Five others were injured, two seriously, the paper said, adding that none of the workers had been wearing helmets.
The 11 workers were all in a lift attached to the outside of a 16-storey building under construction in central Sharjah that dropped seven floors in a matter of seconds.
Foreign workers make up around 85 percent of the 2.77 million population of the United Arab Emirates, of which Sharjah is a member. Most are from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Afghanistan, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.
Industrial accidents, particularly on building sites where only cheap foreign manpower is employed, are a common occurrence in the emirates -- SHARJAH (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
