A robot has killed a worker at an automotive component factory in the Indian city of Gurgaon, police said. The accident happened on Wednesday at SKH Metals, an auto component company located in the Manesar industrial region in northern Harayana state.
The 24-year-old worker, identified as Ramji Lal in media reports, had come too close to the robotic arm of a machine when he was adjusting a dislocated metal sheet, according to Times of India. Lal got struck in the machine and its robotic pierced his abdomen with welding sticks, killing him on the spot.
"The robot is pre-programmed to weld metal sheets it lifts. One such sheet got dislodged and Lal reached from behind the machine to adjust it. This was when welding sticks attached to the pre-programmed device pierced Lal's abdomen," a co-worker told Times of India.
Lal, a contractual worker, joined SKH Metals a year and a half ago and was working in the welding unit. An autopsy report revealed Lal died of "shock and haemorrhage."
Haryana state police said they have booked the company and the contractors on charges of causing death due to negligence, according to IANS.
The company immediately announced an internal investigation and promised to take preventive measures to prevent such accidents in future.
"We have formed a team to probe the accident. It will submit its report in 48 hours. If any suggestions are made, we will implement them to prevent such accidents in future," Vikas Chaudhary, a senior company executive, told Indian Express.
A robot has killed a contractor at Volkswagen's production plants in Germany in similar kind of accident in June this year, HNGN reported previously. The 22-year-old contractor died when a robot grabbed and crushed him against a metal plate.
