Man knocked out by falling debris

Lack of adequate safety measures at a construction site in Sharjah nearly cost the life of an Etihad Airways employee.

Saiful Islam Bahauddin, a Bangladeshi, was hit on the head on May 7 and knocked unconscious for two days when he was walking past the construction site of the 17-storey Sarraf Tower, a commercial residential building on Al Ittihad Road opposite Safeer Mall in Sharjah. "I was walking past the site through the passage between MashreqBank and the construction site when suddenly I was hit by debris that rained down from the construction site," he said.

Bahauddin, 23, was rushed to Kuwaiti Hospital where he regained consciousness after two days. He is nursing a three inch gash on his head and is currently under out-patient treatment at the Welcare Hospital in Dubai. He is still unable to go to work.

Bahauddin is considering filing a formal complaint before the police, but he fears that it will only result in the sacking of some poor labourer.

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"I have not ruled out turning to Sharjah Police to help me receive compensation from the construction company for the careless way in which they are operating. It nearly killed me. I was lucky to survive but there is an accident waiting to happen," he said.