Two days after the collapse of an under-construction hospital in Chennai, the death toll in the incident has risen to two.
The second person to lose his life has been identified as Rajan Chowdhury, 35, from West Bengal. Rajan, who was a worker at the construction site, was discovered under the rubble but succumbed to his injuries in hospital on Sunday.
Babloo Kumar, 22, a migrant worker from Bihar, had died in the collapse on Saturday night.
32 persons were injured after the scaffolding of the building in Kandanchavadi collapsed on Saturday evening. Search and rescue operations continued through Sunday to clear the debris at the site.
The police have registered an FIR and booked the site supervisor and building manager under sections 335 (Voluntarily causing grievous hurt on provocation) and 336 (Act endangering life or personal safety of others).
Revenue Minister RB Udhayakumar had told TNM on Saturday that over 20 people were working at the site and that strict action would be taken against the construction company that is building the hospital. He also said that such accidents occurred when the company and the workers don’t follow the safety precautions mandated by the authorities.
“The building belonged to URS Constructions from what we have found so far,” revealed a top cop investigating the case.
The building is an upcoming hospital on MGR Salai, across from SP Infocity. While the structure of the building remains unscathed, it is the scaffolding and the iron girders of the generator room that caved in and caused the tragedy.
“We will bring others into custody after we learn the chain of command and exactly who is responsible for the crime,” the officer had assured TNM.
The injured were admitted at Apollo Hospital and the Royapettah Government Hospital.
Rajendra Ratnoo, Commissioner, Disaster Management, Tamil Nadu had told TNM on Sunday that the debris was being cleared so as to ensure that no one else was trapped.