Eight killed as building collapses in Tamil Nadu's Nagapattinam district; Palaniswamy announces ex-gratia of Rs 7.5 lakh

At least eight people were killed and three others severely injured when a portion of a building, belonging to Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC), collapsed on Friday at the Porayar depot in Tamil Nadu’s Nagapattinam district. [caption id=“attachment_4158437” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] According to The Times of India, the incident took place at around 3.30 am in Porayar. However, The News Minute reported that a part of the building collapsed at 5 am. The News Minute report also said that of the eight people who died, seven were drivers and one was a bus conductor. The deceased have been identified as Muniyappan, Chandrasekar, Ramalingam, Dhanapal, Prabhakar, Anbarasan, Mannivanna and Balu. The three people injured have been rescued and taken to hospital in Karaikal. The Hindu further reported that the building was constructed around 60 years ago, had developed cracks and was in need of repairs. Condoling the deaths, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswamy announced ex gratia of Rs 7.5 lakh for the kin of deceased. One family member of each of the victims would also be given a job in the transport department, reported ANI. The crew members of the TNSTC were reportedly sleeping in the building when the incident took place on Friday. Nagapattinam district collector C Suresh Kumar visited the spot and conducted enquiries. Officials told PTI that state transport minister MR Vijayabhaskar is rushing to reach the site.

Nagapattinam building collapse: TN CM announces compensation of Rs1.5 lakh for ppl with severe injuries&Rs 50,000 for ppl with mild injuries

— ANI (@ANI) October 20, 2017

In early September, at least four people, including a five-year-old boy, were killed and five others critically injured in the collapse of a 70 year-old residential building in Tiruchirappalli. Officials had said that the ground floor of the building, located on the Thanjai Kula street, adjoining the Rockfort area, could have got weakened due to heavy rains overnight, leading to the collapse. With inputs from PTI