A construction worker survived having his throat cut by the rotating mechanism of cement mixer at a site on Amwaj Islands in Bahrain in December.
Pakistani national, Mohammed Younus, 50, also suffered a fractured jaw and severe cuts to his hands when a piece of cloth worn around his neck got caught in the gears of a cement mixer and dragged him in.
Younus was taken to Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) and underwent an emergency operation to stop the bleeding from his throat and a second operation to repair his chin.
Â
Three days later, he was still in the intensive care unit, according to his nephew Mushtaq Ahmed.
“We are very worried about him, he has a wife, three daughters and four sons back in Pakistan,” Ahmed said.
The Pakistan Embassy said Younus arrived in Bahrain two months ago and was getting paid US $212 (AED800) a month as an operator of the readymix machine.
Bahrain’s Labour Ministry health and safety head, Abdulla Al Makki, said the accident could have been avoided if health and safety precautions were adhered to.
“Our primary investigation shows that he was greasing the gears of the mixer when the accident happened, but he was not wearing any safety equipment or helmet,” he said.
“He was wearing a cloth around his neck because the early morning is quite cold, but this is dangerous, especially since the gears were not screened by proper guarding.
“These are considered routine and simple machines, but it should have also been turned off.”
Makki said the foreman at the site is also to blame for not providing adequate supervision. The site is operated by Skyline Contractors.
The accident further highlights Bahrain’s construction safety record after a string of workplace fatalities and accidents this year, worker advocates said.
Just a week before the accident, 11 men were injured after being dropped in an elevator from the second floor of the Abraj Al Lulu development.
The men were allegedly being used as weights as the lift was manually lowered from the 45th floor.