CHENNAI: Nearly 100 hours after they got trapped inside a 60-foot-deep trench due to the unprecedented deluge, the dead bodies of workers S Naresh and R Jayaseelan were brought out by the rescue teams on Friday. The city police arrested two people in connection with the incident and have launched a hunt for the owner of the company that had taken up construction activity at the site. Jayaseelan (32) got married just a year ago and his wife is pregnant. Naresh (21) is survived by his parents and siblings.
Sivakumar, owner of Green Tech Structural constructions, Ezhil, site supervisor from Selaiyur, Santhosh, site supervisor from Krishnagiri, and Manikandan, manager from Pallikaranai, have been booked in the case as accused by the Guindy police under IPC 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder). Police have arrested Ezhil and Santhosh and have launched a hunt to arrest the other two accused.
The city police, Fire and Rescue Services personnel and National Disaster Response Force teams were pumping out water from the trench using industrial motors for the past two days. A 20-horsepower motor, two earthmovers and pipes from Neyveli Lignite Corporation were used to pump out water. “Around 5am on Friday, Naresh’s body was retrieved and sent to Royapettah Hospital for postmortem.
Around 2pm on Friday, Jayaseelan’s body was also retrieved and sent to the hospital,” sources said. A 200-foot-wide and 60-foot-deep trench was dug up for laying the foundation for a new office building of a private firm.
95% Chennai free of flood: Minister
“Almost 95% of the areas in Chennai are free of inundation. Sanitation workers of the city corporation and those brought from other districts are involved in clearing the roads,” the minister told. Meanwhile, inundation at Perumbakkam remains a challenge. “Even after pumping out water, inundation still continues. We are assessing the situation,” the minister said.
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