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In a tragic incident that took place near Vadugapalayam in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore district on Thursday, June 1, three persons died after a steel structure supporting a giant hoarding collapsed on them. A seven-member crew was engaged in changing the hoarding, which was located near the Coimbatore - Avinashi National Highway, when the incident took place. The land is owned by local resident Ramasamy. The seven men hired by a contractor were changing the banner when the steel structure collapsed on them due to sudden winds and rain.
The deceased were identified as S Gunasekaran (52) of Salem, Kumar (45) of Jalagandapuram, and Kumar (40) of Ponnammapettai in Salem district. Police recovered their bodies and sent them to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital for post-mortem.
Police said the 16 ft x 25 ft banner appeared to be an advertisement for a commercial establishment. Six workers including those who died were trapped under the giant banner structure. Three died on the spot while the other three – Arunkumar, Shanmugasundaram, and Sait – sustained injuries. One worker escaped from the accident without any injury.
Commuters and local residents who saw the incident alerted the police and rescued the workers. The workers were rushed to a private hospital for further treatment. Later, they were shifted to the government hospital.
According to reports, the hoarding was illegal and the contractor did not get permission from the district administration to put it up. Karumathampatti Police registered a case and arrested Palanisamy, a sub-contractor, on Thursday night. Police told TNM that the contractor has been booked under section 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and 304 part 2 (whoever causes the death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Police also said more details about the persons who died and the sub-contractor will be ascertained after the initial investigation.
