Will take at least 3 hours to rescue another person from Velachery 60-ft trench: GCC Commissioner
During the early hours of the day, the body of one person was retrieved from the 60-foot trench by rescue personnel after about 100 hours since the mishap occurred.
CHENNAI: Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner J Radhakrishnan, who visited the rescue site at Five Furlong Road in Velachery on Friday said that it will take at least three more hours for the rescue teams to reach the other person.
Commissioner Radhakrishnan says that a parallel investigation by Police will be undertaken to look into the flouting of norms by the construction company.
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Multiple departments have been at work to ensure that the bodies are secured. pic.twitter.com/TQeFZQ9b3N
Stating that the Tamil Nadu government has spared no efforts in the rescue operation, the Commissioner promised an investigation into the construction company, on whose site the two men were trapped.
During the early hours of the day, the body of one person was retrieved from the 60-foot trench by rescue personnel after about 100 hours since the mishap occurred.
Police and rescue personnel at the scene told DT Next that the body was in a decomposed state
Commissioner Radhakrishnan confirmed the retrieved body to be that of S Naresh, staff of the fuel station adjacent to the under-construction site.
The family of Jayaseelan (31), the assistant electrical engineer, who was said to be in the container office at the under-construction site are still at the site.
Jayaseelan’s pregnant wife, Manju, has stayed put at the scene since Monday.
Meanwhile, a top official with Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services (TNFRS) said that the rescue teams managed to spot the container, and it was cut open, but there was no person inside it, and the rescue personnel are continuing operations looking through the slush.
Read: As anxiety looms, slush poses challenge to rescue ops
Commissioner Radhakrishnan said that the area is at least 3 acres, and despite top-end machinery and manpower being pressed into service, slush and spring water have hindered operations.
“A lot of debris has to be cleared and our personnel from TNFRS, NDRF, L & T, and NLCIL have been working tirelessly,” Radhakrishnan said.
He further promised due compensation for the families of Jayaseelan and Naresh.
On the rescue site being cordoned off with a safety net, the Commissioner said it is according to disaster management guidelines in handling the dead as the bodies are expected to be in a severely decomposed state and that there is no lack of transparency as alleged in some sections.
The families of the victims have been allowed inside from day 1, and they have been constantly updated on the progress made, the Commissioner said.
The duo were trapped in the trench after the land caved in bringing down the makeshift container office of the construction site, a bus shelter, and a portion of the floor of the fuel outlet adjoining the trench following heavy rains on Monday.