Hyderabad: In a freak accident at Methodist Colony in Kundanbagh, a father and son, both electricians, died, while the house owner remains critical after a temporary metal slab connecting an elevator landing to the third-floor balcony corridor gave way. All three crashed to the ground.Though the incident occurred on Saturday morning, it came to light only on Sunday. Vivek, 30, and his father Devi Das, 60, died on the spot. Dwaraka Prasad, 65, an engineer, is battling for life.Prasad’s family owns the G+3 residential building and lives on the third floor. When the building was constructed, there was no provision for a lift. Nearly five years ago, the family installed one in the setback area along the balconies.“However, there was a five-foot gap between the lift landing on the third floor and the balcony. To bridge it, the house owner had created a temporary iron slab,” assistant commissioner of police (Panjagutta division) Murali Krishna told TOI.Police said cement had been laid over the iron framework to cover the metal structure underneath.Criminal case registered“For the last three months, the lift had been malfunctioning. On Saturday, Prasad engaged the electricians to fix the problem. While all three were standing on the temporary structure and discussing the issue, the metal slab suddenly broke and they fell,” the ACP said.Panjagutta police registered a criminal case against Prasad on charges of causing death by negligence and are investigating the case.“It was found that the metal had weakened due to rust accumulation,” police said.
