70-yr-old guard dies as Mumbai Cricket Association Club gate falls on him

A 70-year-old security guard at the Mumbai Cricket Association Club in Bandra Kurla Complex died after a steel gate fell on him yesterday. He was rushed to Gurunanak Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Suresh Kochrekar's body was moved to Sion Hospital for post mortem to ascertain the exact cause of death.

Gate no 5 of Mumbai Cricket Association Club in BKC where the incident occurred. Pic/Rane Ashish

The incident took place around 11.30 am yesterday when the huge steel gate fell on the senior citizen deployed at the club's Gate no. 5.

Doctors from Gurunanak Hospital told mid-day there were no visible injuries on his body. "He had scratches on several parts of his body, but there were no serious wounds. Since we couldn't ascertain the cause of death, we informed BKC police officials about the incident," said the casualty medical officer at the hospital.

Official speak
Explaining what happened, Ajay Desai, general manager, MCA Recreation Centre, told mid-day, "It is an unfortunate incident. A wheel of the gate came out while opening and the gate fell on the guard. He was immediately rushed to the hospital."

An MCA official while narrating the incident, said, "The incident happened around 11.30 am when the guard tried to open the gate for a heavy vehicle. With domestic T20 matches going on at the venue, a doctor was also available. He attended to the guard immediately and then Suresh was rushed to the hospital. There was no external bleeding but we suspect that the incident must have caused many internal injuries. Later on, we also checked the gate and there was no sign of any malfunctioning. The gate is often used for entry of heavy vehicles. It was a one-off incident."

BKC Police officials said while the incident took place in the morning, they were only informed in the afternoon around 3.30 pm.

Pallavi, Kochrekar's daughter, said he had undergone a bypass surgery and had a weak heart. "He was working as a security guard and underwent a bypass surgery around six years ago. We were at our workplaces when the incident took place and were informed only after he was pronounced dead at the hospital," said Pallavi.

Meanwhile, police officials said while they suspect that the death could've taken place due to the heart condition, in the absence of any visible injuries they are awaiting post mortem report for the cause
of death.

Cop speak
The BKC police has not filed any case in the matter. Senior police inspector Pundalik Nigade of BKC police station said, "When we reached the spot the gate had been kept aside. We first will have to ascertain if he died of the impact or of shock. We have registered an ADR in the matter. We are trying to understand the exact sequence of the events and taking statements of the people present at the spot."

- Inputs by Saurabh Vaktania