Three more people were rescued from debris this morning, 60 hours after a multi-storey building under construction in Chennai collapsed during heavy rain on Saturday, killing at least 24 people. About 20 people are still feared trapped.
Here are the latest developments
One more body was brought out from the debris late Monday evening, taking the total number of dead to 24. By Monday evening, some of the victims had been identified. "Fifteen have been identified and five are yet to be identified. Out of the 15, six belong to Tamil Nadu, five to Andhra Pradesh and four are from Odisha," Tamil Nadu Director of Public Health Dr K Kulandaisamy said.
Most of those in the building when it collapsed were construction workers from Andhra Pradesh and the northern states. Many were in the building to collect their wages.
A senior cop told NDTV, "Clearing the debris is a huge challenge. This would take almost two to three days and we hope to save many lives." Rescuers reportedly could hear feeble voices from the debris.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu visited the collapse site and the hospital on Monday where the injured were undergoing treatment. He announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the families of the victims.
On Sunday evening, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa said there were 72 construction workers in the building when it collapsed. "It appears they have not adhered to approved plans. The building appears to have serious structural defects," she said after the collapse.
Police have arrested five people including the promoters and engineers of the building and has charged them with alleged irregularities and compromising on quality and safety.
Ms Jayalalithaa also announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each in addition to the earlier compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the victims. The Andhra Pradesh government too announced Rs 5 lakh for each victim.
A National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team has been leading rescue work using gas cutters, iron rods and shovels after cranes lifted concrete blocks to get to the survivors. TV and still footage showed crowds of rescuers in yellow helmets searching the ruins - huge slabs of concrete which had pancaked onto each other, twisted steel reinforcing rods and tangled scaffolding.
Earlier on Saturday, 11 people died when a four-storey structure, 50 years old, collapsed in New Delhi.
In April last year, 74 people were killed when an eight-storey building being constructed illegally in the Mumbai suburb of Thane in western Maharashtra had collapsed.
