A 30-year-old Construction worker was killed and 14 others injured when the roof of an under-construction indoor stadium in a school collapsed in Noida’s Sector 126 Friday afternoon, police said. Police maintained that the construction had been outsourced to a contractor, who is allegedly on the run. “No FIR has been registered in the incident so far. However, a magisterial inquiry has been ordered in the case by the district magistrate,” Love Kumar, SSP, Gautam Buddha Nagar, said.

Around 2.30 pm, at least 20 labourers were at the construction site in Mayur School, casting the roof with concrete, when the iron poles supporting the steel asbestos roof bent and the structure collapsed. “Classes were over and the children were back home when the incident took place. There were around 20-25 workers on the roof. There was no one below. If people had been standing below, there would have been more casualties,” Vedpal Pundir, SHO, Expressway police station, said.

The workers were rushed to nearby hospitals. “One of the men, Sunil, who was a resident of Noida Phase II, was rushed to a private hospital in Sector 128 where he died of head injuries. He was identified by other construction workers. We are trying to track down his family. His post-mortem examination will be conducted tomorrow,” Pundir said. The injured were admitted to Kailash Hospital in Noida. “Thirteen people were given first-aid and discharged in a couple of hours. One person, Prabhu (46), suffered an injury on his chest. His condition is stable but he has been kept under observation in the general ward,” a spokesperson for Kailash Hospital said.

A statement from the office of district magistrate B N Singh read: “This is a serious issue, and on the basis of the available facts and situation, a magisterial inquiry has been ordered.” The notice added that the inquiry will look into the reasons behind the incident, whether the map of the construction site had been cleared and if necessary precautions were taken. It will also investigate whether the employment conditions of the construction workers were in tune with the labour laws. “The inquiry will further probe if the incident, which led to the death of one worker, is one of criminal negligence and, if so, who is responsible,” Singh said.