Chennai building collapse death toll touches 14

A sniffer dog helps rescue personnel at the building collapse site in Chennai on Sunday.

The collapse of the 11-storey building in the western suburb of Moulivakkam here on Saturday triggered one of the largest rescue operations in the city involving over a thousand workers from various departments, even as the death toll went up to 14 on Sunday evening.

More deaths are feared as scores of people are still trapped under the debris.

Though unconfirmed estimates put the number of workers trapped at the disaster site at around 100, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, who visited the accident spot as well as the hospital where the rescued workers are being treated, said around 72 workers were working at the site when it collapsed.

Ms. Jayalalithaa said: “There was nothing wrong with the plan that was submitted for approval but the builders knowingly committed many violations and did not adhere to the plan that was approved. It is too early to say exactly what went wrong but there appears to have been a big structural defect which is apparent in the adjoining building also which is being constructed by the same company. Tests have to be conducted whether the soil is capable of bearing such a huge weight.”

“Rescue operations have been going on non-stop since last [Saturday] evening,” she added. Of the 32 persons recovered from the debris, 12 are dead and the remaining are undergoing medical care. The Tamil Nadu government has announced a solatium of Rs. two lakh for the families of each of the deceased and Rs. 50,000 to the injured.

On Sunday, the police arrested six persons — including the managing director and senior engineers of Prime Sristi Housing Private Limited — who were directly involved in the construction of the ‘Trust Heights’ residential apartments.

One of the two blocks in the complex collapsed on Saturday. The police, in a statement, said preliminary investigation revealed there was no coordination between the architect, structural engineers and site engineers over the execution of the residential project.

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Five arrested in Chennai building collapse

11 floor building collapse at Bai kadai junction Moulivakkam,near Porur on Sunday. 

11 floor building collapse at Bai kadai junction Moulivakkam,near Porur on Sunday. 

The city police have so far arrested five people in connection with the building collapse in Moulivakkam, near Porur.

The owners of the building Manoharan and his son Muthu Kamakshi, Engineers Durai Singam and Shankar as well as the Structural Engineer Venkatasubramaniam were arrested.

According to police sources, the routine monthly inspections of the building to be undertaken by the engineers had not taken place over the last two months.

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Chennai building collapse: Under the crushing weight

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  uSeveral government agencies were involved in possibly one of the biggest rescue operations in recent times at the Moulivakkam building collapse site on Sunday. Intermittent rains hampered operations Photo: M. Karunakaran

It is feared that at least 40 more persons could be trapped under the mass of concrete, steel and sand.

Even by conservative estimates provided by some builders, the eleven-storied-building that was reduced to a heap on Saturday evening would have left at least 8,000 metric tonnes of rubble.

As the government rescue workers, with some help from some private agencies and technical institutions, continued their operations even under rain, it is feared that at least 40 more persons could be trapped under the mass of concrete, steel and sand. The incessant rains have complicated the rescue operations.

By Sunday morning, the rescue efforts were in full swing with the participation of at least half-a-dozen agencies. The accident site itself was cordoned off, and entry was restricted to rescue workers, the police and the media. Resident living around the site extended their cooperation to the efforts by giving water and food to people engaged in the rescue.

As news spread through the day about the massive collapse, the stretch of Kunrathur Main Road around the accident site was cordoned off. There was no power supply in the locality. Diesel generators were supplied to operate the machines engaged in clearing the debris at the site.

The preliminary investigations headed by M. Saikumar, secretary of PWD, and his team, refuted claims made by the builder on Saturday that the building might have crashed after it was struck by lightning.

Saturday rush

On Sunday, more details emerged on the accident that has claimed the lives of the weekly wage earners, 12 of whom had died at the time of filing this report. More than 40 of them are still feared to be trapped under the rubble. Since Saturday was their ‘wage day’, almost all the workers were supposed to have been at the site to collect their wages when the building crashed.

According to workers at the site, a mason earns up to Rs. 650 a day, a senior worker (periaal) Rs. 400 a day while an assistant worker (chittaal) Rs. 300 a day. Most of the workers were from neighbouring State of Andhra Pradesh and a few were from other northern States.

Reason for collapse

While Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had said it was too early to comment on why the building had collapsed, the accident was the talking point among the builder circles through Sunday. One of the builders, who is currently executing various projects in the city, on condition of anonymity, said the most likely cause for the collapse was a weak foundation. Re-conducting the soil test and studying the structural design of the building would reveal the facts, he said.

Residents living near the construction site too have raised a lot of doubts as to whether the builders had taken the soil conditions there under consideration before taking up construction.

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4 dead, several trapped in Chennai building collapse

Four persons were killed and over 30 trapped under the debris of a building under construction that collapsed at 5.30 p.m. on Saturday after heavy showers. The deceased include Marudhu Pandian (40) from Madurai, Shankar (27), Shanthakumari (25) and an unidentified male. The incident occurred at Moulivakkam near Porur on Kundrathur main road. Fifteen injured persons were taken to various city hospitals.

Rescue operations were on late into the night with over 12 fire tenders and 150 Fire and Rescue Service personnel involved in the rescue work

‘Trust Heights,’ promoted by Prime Sristi Housing Pvt. Ltd, had two 11-storey buildings under construction – ‘The Faith’ and ‘The Belief.’

According to Fire and Rescue service personnel, one of the multi-storey structures collapsed on an adjoining small building.

In a statement, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said she had directed the police to initiate action against those responsible for the incident. A national disaster management team from Arakkonam has rushed to the spot to assist the rescue.

Chennai Commissioner of Police S. George told reporters at the spot that owner of the real estate firm Manoharan and his son, Muthu have been arrested.

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   TWO  BUILDINGS  TOPPLE  DREAMS  OF  SAFE  HOMES

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