DUBAI // A dock worker who was crushed to death by a container as it was being lowered from a ship had ignored orders to keep clear, a court was told yesterday. A Ports Authority health and safety officer said he was at Jebel Ali when the accident happened and immediately went to the scene. Asked by the presiding judge Ibrahim Abu Shamma if there had been any procedural or operational mistakes, the Filipino safety officer replied: "This was not an operational mistake of the workers. The deceased ignored the clearance instructions and that led to his death.
"The supervisor warned the deceased and ordered him to step away from the container, but he did not follow the safety orders." SS, 45, an Indian crane operator and GS, a 51-year-old foreman, both deny causing the accidental death of AK, 35, on June 17 last year. The trial at Dubai Court of Misdemeanours was adjourned until October 19 for defence papers to be entered. Outside the hearing, Yousif Hammad, who is representing the defendants, said the unloading of containers involved the crane operator signalling to the foreman.
The foreman would then alert workers on the dock to clear the platform. "In this case, the victim did not follow procedure and was killed because of that," said Mr Hammad. @Email:amustafa@thenational.ae
