An Indian expat was killed and two other workers injured yesterday when a pile of cement cinder blocks toppled on top of them at a construction site in Doha, the Peninsula reports.

The men were rushed to Hamad Hospital with severe head injuries around noon on Friday. An official at the morgue told the newspaper that “they received the body of an Indian with open skull early yesterday.”

Qatar Tribune, which spoke to the Indian Embassy, reports that the workers were hurt when a portion of a wall fell on them during the demolition of an old building in Bin Mahmoud.

The deceased was identified as Madan Lal Balu of the west Indian state of Rajasthan. The fate of the injured men, one from Nepal and the other from India, remains unclear.

Dismal record

The construction industry in Qatar has long been criticized for its dismal safety record.

For the past few years, international rights groups have been calling on the country to improve its standards in the run-up to the 2022 World Cup, as Qatar embarks on several multi-billion dollar mega-projects that will require the recruitment of some half a million more workers.

And earlier this year, an assurance director for the games said that hundreds of workers could die while working on these projects, unless companies start conforming to better safety standards.

He added that unless the problem is taken more seriously, Qatar could also suffer manpower shortages as blue-collar workers opt to work on projects in other countries.

Thoughts?

Credit: Photo for illustrative purposes only by Kyle McDonald