One killed as 11-story under construction building collapses in Chennai - Indian Express

Summary

Twelve fire tenders and 100 personnel were called for rescue work.

One person was killed and several others feared trapped when an under construction 11-story building collapsed near suburban Porur on Saturday and rescue efforts were on by multiple agencies, including National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

City Police Commissioner S George, who visited the spot, said a man was killed in the collapse at Moulivakkam in the western suburb, about 20 km from here, as rains lashed the area and several other parts of the city this evening.

Rescue officials at the spot said that five persons had been rescued with injuries and they have been referred to a nearby private hospital.

Fire and Rescue Services Joint Director S Vijayasekar earlier said according to eyewitnesses there were about 50 construction workers at the site at the time of the collapse.

Expressing grief over the incident, Chief Minister J Jayalalitha said that on her directives, NDRF teams had rushed from neighbouring Arakkonam even as multi-agency relief operations involving were on in full swing.

In a statement here, she said she ordered officials to initiate legal proceedings against those responsible for the incident.

Jayalalithaa said she had ordered best medical treatment to the injured and deputed Minister for Animal Husbandry T K M Chinnaiah to the spot besides directing senior officials to take stock of the situation.

She said special lighting arrangements had been made to ensure unhindered rescue operations through the night.

“I have ordered police officials to take legal action against those responsible for the incident,” she said.

Besides, she has also ordered for supply of rescue equipment from Chennai Metro Rail Limited, City Corporation and High ways departments.

Twelve fire tenders and more than 100 personnel were involved in the rescue work.

Mangadu (Chennai): Under construction building collapses, Rescue work underway http://ift.tt/1yXaPEo

— ANI (@ANI_news) June 28, 2014

Meanwhile, building firm Prime Sristi, which has taken up the residential project, claimed the incident occurred due to the impact of thunder.

“Usually, once the construction gets over we install the equipment to prevent the building from thunder strike. It was nearing completion,” Balaguru, Director, Prime Sristi, said.

He said about 50 workers were inside the building during the mishap and there was a heavy downpour at that time.

The mishap resulted in heavy traffic jam in the area.

Police said they had made special arrangements for the ambulances to carry the injured to a nearby private hospital swiftly.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at http://ift.tt/jcXqJW.

from Top Stories - Google News http://ift.tt/1jZ4rm5

via IFTTT