An old building on Armenian Street in Chennai’s Parrys Corner collapsed during renovations on Wednesday, April 19. The building was roughly 70 years old, and as many as ten labourers were working inside when the building collapsed. Reports said four people were trapped inside the fallen debris, while six people had made it out. It is suspected that a pedestrian is also trapped in the collapsed building, but officials have not confirmed it so far. Rescue operations are underway.
The Commissioner of Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) Gagandeep Singh said that the owner of the building had not taken prior permission from the planning department in the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) to renovate the building. This is the second building to have collapsed in Chennai in the last six months.
The old building was said to have been bought by one Bharath, the proprietor of a company named Royal Steel, a few years back, and he started renovating the building two months ago. The building reportedly collapsed at 10:15 am in a few seconds. The people in the area were also unaware of what had happened because of the dust emanating from the site. The building collapse also damaged five buildings and the houses nearby. The vehicles parked near the collapsed building were also damaged.
Rescue operations are underway. Speaking to TNM, Gagandeep Singh, said they were facing difficulty in bringing large, specialised vehicles to remove the debris systematically owing to the narrow roads in the area. He added that four JCB vehicles, 10 lorries and around 100 fire rescue staff were involved in the rescue operations. Gagandeep is at the site of the incident and overseeing the rescue operations.
