A 45-year-old fisherman was crushed to death when a crane that was commissioned to retrieve a huge piece of concrete from the bottom of the Kasimedu Fishing Harbour overturned on Tuesday afternoon trapping him underneath.
Police said Selvamani, a resident of Anna Nagar in Kasimedu, was summoned to help in the operation as he was an expert diver who went underwater to check for leaks in the keel of the mechanised boats.
The large piece of concrete, a breakaway portion of the old wharf, was the stumbling block for the mechanised boats as it damaged the keel of many vessels.
Eyewitnesses said Selvamani dived into the sea and assessed the portion of the broken wharf in the afternoon. He then tied the stone to the boom jib of the mobile crane and slowly began to bring it out of the water. But as it emerged, the stone reportedly got stuck to something under water outweighing the capacity of the crane. As a result, the crane tilted to its right dangerously.
On witnessing the crane going off balance, Selvamani, who was clinging on to the broken concrete piece, instructed the other fisherfolk present there to put some counter weight on the crane to prevent it from overturning. But it was in vain. Selvamani was caught under the boom jib of the crane as it landed on its side. He died instantaneously.
Police said that the crane was operated by Balamurugan (22), a resident of Villupuram district, who was absconding.
South Indian Fishermen Welfare Association president K Bharathi said that the State should provide compensation to the fisherman’s family.
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