In a tragic incident, a 25-year-old woman was killed and two children injured when the balcony of a two-storeyed residential building collapsed at TNSCB colony in Teynampet here on Sunday.
Residents of the colony said the building on Nallan Street, where the incident took place, was constructed under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission project a few years ago. The second floor was built just a month ago, they said.
The house belonged to Sugunaraj, a watchman, and his wife Lathamani.
The couple had six daughters and two of them, including the victim Bhuvaneshwari, were at home at the time of the incident.
Around 2.30 pm, Bhuvaneshwari, who had delivered a daughter just four months ago, was standing on the balcony of the first floor, when the second-floor balcony collapsed. In the impact, the first-floor balcony too came crashing down because of which Bhuvaneshwari fell down, sustaining grievous injuries.
Two children — Rudesh (9) and Adavan (8) — were caught under the debris and were injured in the head and neck, the residents said.
Bhuvaneshwari was in the balcony, while her parents, sister Vanashree and her baby daughter Darshinika were inside the house.
“We constructed this house three to fours years ago, but the second floor was completed only last month,” Sugunaraj told Express. “Bhuvaneshwari came from her husband’s house in Mannivakkam near Guduvanchery to stay with us,” Sugunaraj added.
Recalling the incident, he said: “We were lying down when we heard a loud noise and ran out to see what had happened. We found our daughter trapped in the debris.” Rudesh, a Class IV student, was injured on the head and leg, while Adavan, who is in Class III, suffered a head injury.