CHENNAI: In a freak mishap, a huge drilling equipment being set up as part of the second phase of CMRL work collapsed and crashed on the first floor of a house in Porur on Thursday night. However, nobody was injured in the incident.
According to police, the house belongs to Parthiyanathan (68), who lives with his wife on the ground floor of a single-story building in Anjugam Nagar. On the first floor, Parthiyanathan’s two sons live in separate portions with their families. The equipment hit the portion where Parthiyanathan’s elder son Jarald is staying.
CMRL workers were placing the drilling equipment on the road to make pits for the foundation. On Thursday night, a drilling machine weighing around 100 tonnes and at least 100 feet tall was being set up by the workers.
When a crane operator was lifting the equipment from the road, it tilted sideways and fell on Parthiyanathan’s house breaking a portion of it. Jarald, who works as a cab driver, was out on work and his wife and two children were getting ready to go to bed.
However, nobody suffered injuries, police said. Parthiyanathan, his family, and neighbours staged protests and picked up an argument with CMRL workers. Police registered a case, but have not arrested anyone yet.
“It is a minor incident. Due to heavy rain, the rig master was being folded when it hit the building. A tin sheet roof got damaged and we said the damage will be repaired,” a CMRL official said.