TIRUVANNAMALAI: Two teenagers who were brothers died, and their eight-year-old cousin was injured, after the roof of an old residential building that was undergoing demolition fell on them in Tiruvannamalai’s Vandavasi taluk on Friday. Demolition work at the site began on Thursday to make way for the construction of a new house in its place, said police.
The deceased have been identified as Abhinesh M (17) and Mukesh M (14). According to the police, the parents of the deceased live at Ambedkar Nagar in Vazhoor Village, Vandavasi. However, the boys lived with their uncle, Seetharaman M, in Elangadu Village. Abinesh was in Class 11, and Mukesh was in Class 9 at the Government Boys Higher Secondary School, Vandavasi.
The incident occurred at about 8 am on Friday. “The building belonged to Seetharaman’s grandfather, Muniyan, and was built under a housing scheme of the former chief minister J Jayalalithaa. On Thursday, too, demolition works were carried out. On Friday morning, when Seetharaman and some workers were standing on top of the house and demolishing the structure, the roof suddenly collapsed and fell on the boys,” said a police officer. Abinesh and Mukesh sustained severe injuries to their head and died on the spot.