An Asian labourer is in hospital after being seriously injured in a building collapse in Madinat Khalifa South yesterday.

The Gulf Times reports that he has broken his neck and one of his legs.

Newspapers offer conflicting accounts of how the incident happened.

The Peninsula reports that the man was part of a team excavating a new plot when a building next door suddenly collapsed on them. 

The Gulf Times, however, says the man was actually in the neighbouring building when it collapsed, as it served as workers’ accommodation. 

“The damaged house, originally a single storey structure, had a number of temporary rooms, partitioned by wood panels, on its roof”, reports the paper.

The Gulf Times suggests that the excavation of the new site next door probably made the building’s foundations unstable. 

Occupational Health is an important issue in Qatar as the country prepares to host the 2022 World Cup.

Qatar’s National Health Strategy 2011-16 acknowledges the scale of the problem:

“Expert opinion suggests a rate of about four to five fatalities per 100,000 workers (in Qatar), approximately double the rate in the European Union (EU). Although occupational health legislation exists in Qatar to safeguard the health of workers, many employers do not seem to be in full compliance with some of its provisions”, says the National Health Strategy website. 

Building collapses are not rare events in Doha. Last year, we reported on the collapse of a building in Musheireb, injuring two men.

Rumours persisted that one worker was killed in the incident, although this was denied by the site’s owners. 

Thoughts?

Credit: Photo by Marco Zanferrari