Srikakulam/Vizianagaram: After a week-long battle to trace the victims of building collapse incident in Chennai, the government has announced that the death roll is 38. While 24 victims belonged to Vizianagaram district, the rest of them were from Srikakulam district. The Tamil Nadu government has announced that the rescue operation was completed Friday.
According to collector of Vizianagaram district Kantilal Dande, four more bodies were identified as those of R Sujatha of Komarada mandal, B Gowri Naidu of Badangi mandal, S Satyanarayana of Makkuva mandal and M Chinnam Naidu of Jiyyammavalasa mandal. The bodies are being shifted from Chennai to the native villages of victims, the collector said.
Meanwhile, seven persons have been discharged from hospital and the officials are arranging vehicles to bring them to their native places. Still, two persons are undergoing treatment at a hospital in Chennai.
Incharge collector of Srikakulam district G Veerapandiyan said that a total number of 16 persons belonging to the district had worked in the collapsed building. Of them, 14 died while the other two - K Krishna Veni of Gotta village and Ch Mahesh of Gudivada village - sustained injuries.
Soon after the incident, both the district administrations sent their officials to Chennai and took the help of the Nellore district collector. The officials rushed to Chennai and extended all possible help to the victims.
The administration has also enquired about the workers working at other construction sites and brought them to their native places.
Union minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju in Vizianagaram and minister for labour and employment K Atchennaidu, along with the senior officials, visited the victims’ houses and distributed ration to them. The state government has announced a compensation of `5 lakh and a house-site to the kin of the deceased.