Resources
Falls From Height in India: Key Safety Statistics
Falls are one of the most common ways people die in accidents in India, at work and outside it. This page brings together the official figures on falls and workplace deaths in one place, with a link to every source, so safety managers, journalists and students can quote them accurately. Figures are updated as new reports are published.
Compiled by: Yatin Chaudhary, TsaF. Last updated: 29 October 2026.
Key figures at a glance
| Figure | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accidental deaths in India | 4,67,857 | 2024 | NCRB, ADSI 2024 Snapshots |
| Accidental deaths in India | 4,44,104 | 2023 | NCRB, ADSI 2024 Snapshots |
| Share of “other causes” accidental deaths due to falls | 5.7% | 2024 | NCRB, ADSI 2024 Snapshots |
| Workers killed at factories, mines, ports and central government construction sites | At least 6,500 | 5 years to March 2021 | Ministry of Labour and Employment, reply in Parliament, as reported by British Safety Council India |
| Of which, in factories | 5,629 | 5 years to March 2021 | Same as above |
| Average deaths per day in registered factories | 3 (and 11 injuries) | 2017–2020 | DGFASLI data obtained under RTI by IndiaSpend, as reported by British Safety Council India |
| Falls from height as a cause of worker deaths in Great Britain | Most common cause (40 of 135 deaths) | 2022/23 | HSE, as reported by British Safety Council India |
Falls in India’s national accident data
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) publishes Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India (ADSI) every year. It recorded 4,67,857 accidental deaths in 2024, up from 4,44,104 in 2023. The rate rose from 31.9 to 33.3 deaths per lakh population.
NCRB groups most of these deaths under “other causes” (4,59,954 deaths in 2024). Falls are listed as one of the major causes in that group, at 5.7%. Applied to that total, this works out to roughly 26,000 deaths from falls in a single year. That number is our calculation from the published share, not a separately published NCRB figure.
ADSI covers all falls, not only falls at work. It includes falls from buildings, trees, ladders and into pits. It is still the clearest official signal of how large the problem is.
Deaths at workplaces covered by law
In a reply to Parliament, the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment said at least 6,500 workers had been killed at factories, ports, mines and central government construction sites in the five years to March 2021:
| Workplace type | Deaths (5 years to March 2021) |
|---|---|
| Factories | 5,629 |
| Mines | 549 |
| Central government construction sites | 237 |
| Ports | 74 |
Data from the Directorate General Factory Advice Service & Labour Institutes (DGFASLI), obtained under RTI by IndiaSpend, shows an average of 3 deaths and 11 injuries every day in registered factories between 2017 and 2020.
These counts only cover workplaces that report under the Factories Act and related laws. Most construction and informal work in India sits outside them, so the real number of work-related deaths is higher.
How India compares
Countries that publish cause-wise workplace data show falls from height near the top. In Great Britain, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recorded 135 worker deaths in 2022/23. Falls from height caused 40 of them, more than any other cause, and 24 of those 40 were in construction.
India’s national workplace data is not yet published by cause in the same way. The pattern elsewhere suggests falls are likely a leading cause here as well, especially on rooftops, ladders, towers and vehicle tops.
Where falls happen on industrial sites
The hazards behind most falls on factory and warehouse sites are well known:
- Roof edges and fragile roof sheets or skylights during maintenance and cleaning.
- Fixed ladders on towers, chimneys, silos and tanks.
- Tops of trucks, tankers and rail wagons during loading and inspection.
- Roof access points such as hatches and ladder tops.
Engineered systems remove or control these hazards. See the TsaF horizontal life line system for roofs, the vertical life line system for ladders and the overhead life line system for vehicle tops. For the rules that apply, read rooftop fall protection standards in India.
Limits of the data
- NCRB counts falls of all kinds, at home, at work and in public places.
- Workplace figures cover only registered factories, mines, ports and central government construction sites.
- Deaths that occur weeks after an injury may be recorded as injuries, so official counts are likely to be underestimates.
Cite this page
You are welcome to use these figures. Please cite the original source listed for each number and link to this page:
TsaF (2026). Falls From Height in India: Key Safety Statistics. https://tsafsafety.com/resources/fall-safety-statistics-india/
Sources
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