DUBAI // Three construction company employees have been convicted of causing the death of an Indian worker who died when a wall collapsed on him at a site in Dubai in January.

Indians O J, 29, an engineer, N S, 24, a safety officer, and F M, 49, a supervisor, were jailed for a month and fined Dh1,000 for causing the death of 26-year-old J P and with causing the injury of another.

The court suspended the jail terms for three years but ordered them to jointly pay blood money to the family of the deceased.

Prosecutors said the two victims were working on a building site at a school near Al Safa Park on January 29 when a cement wall collapsed and killed J P. Indian A H, 43, was injured in the accident.

Police were notified and an ambulance was sent to the location and rescuers tried to resuscitate J P. A H was pulled from under the debris and sent to Rashid Hospital.

“It’s a school project and I was the engineer. We were trying to build a place for the water tank,” said O J. “We built a wall and then there was some space behind it that must be filled with sand. The workers started filling the space with sand when suddenly the wall collapsed.

“They must have filled more sand than was needed, which caused pressure on the wall and caused it to collapse and kill one of the workers.”

The other two defendants gave similar testimonies and denied any connection to the accident, saying that all safety procedures had been followed and that their workers were wearing safety gear.

salamir@thenational.ae