3 killed in Chekkanurani building collapse, Collector orders probe

The enquiry team would be led by the Assistant Director of Panchayats and it would commence on Monday. Four others, who were trapped in the rubble from the incident, were rescued and admitted to the Madurai Government Rajaji Hospital.

In the wake of the incident, Fire and Rescue Services personnel from Usilampatti, Sholavandhan and Tirumangalam here stepped up rescue efforts. While A. Kasinathan (45) was brought dead to the hospital on Friday, N Arun Kumar (21) and P Balamurugan (45) were declared brought dead to hospital on Saturday, sources said.

Collector Rajasekar, after inspecting the damaged two-storeyed building, said it was an illegal construction as the building owner did not obtain any official permission. Poor foundation could have caused the collapse of the building which was constructed in a hasty manner in just around five months, he said. The building owner, M Madhavan, was arrested, the Collector said.

The site has been cordoned off as the building has been ordered to be demolished. As many houses exist in the vicinity, the demolition exercise would be done under the supervision of PWD authorities, and people need to becautious, the Collector said.

The injured victims taking treatment at Madurai GRH have been identified as Muthupandi, Karthik (28), Rajesh (30) and Murugan (36), sources said. The Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management, RB Udhayakumar, met the injured in the hospital. He said the government is taking measures to provide compensation for the victims and added that the guilty would be punished.