KOCHI: One construction worker was killed and two others were injured after the roof of a building collapsed on a group of labourers from Andhra Pradesh at a construction site in Kaloor, Kochi, on Wednesday.
Dhanapal Naik, 41, from Kuppam in Andhra's Chittoor district, has been identified as the deceased, while Banagaraswamy Naik and Sivaji Naik, both in their mid-40s, who were trapped in the debris were rescued. They were shifted to General Hospital in the city.
According to residents in the area, expansion work of the existing drainage canal has been going on at Shenoy Cross Road near Kaloor. A part of the roof of a house adjacent to the construction site collapsed leading to debris falling on workers around 1 pm. There were five workers at the site, and three slipped into the canal along with the debris. Two of them were rescued in the search operations by the Fire and Rescue Service, police and residents in the locality. However, Dhanapal Naik was trapped and his body was recovered following an hours-long operation.
Officials at the Fire and Rescue Service said they received a call around 1 pm on Wednesday about the collapse. A concrete slab was placed in between the wall and roof of the house, owned by Cherian Vargheese, a retired PWD engineer. As the workers were excavating the mud for the construction they placed iron rods for supporting the concrete structure. However, the rods slipped as the earth was loose following heavy rains in the last two days, and the slab fell over the workers.
"A comprehensive inquiry will be conducted," said Mayor M Anil Kumar, who visited the spot.