THRISSUR: Amid heavy rain across Thrissur, three West Bengal natives died in Kodakara after a building housing migrant labourers collapsed early on Friday.
Built around 40 years ago, the two-storeyed house accommodated 17 people, with the three unfortunate labourers -- identified as Rahul, Rupel and Ali -- staying on the ground floor. The others managed to escape. The incident, accompanied by a loud noise, happened around 6 am, residents said.
“The old house was located amidst a number of commercial enterprises and was not easily visible from the outside,” Kodakara panchayat vice-president Rejeesh K G said. “What happened was unfortunate and unexpected.”
He said the Asha workers in the panchayat, as part of health campaigns, had visited the area and held medical camps.
“No one complained about the strength of the building and we never imagined that something like this would happen,” Rejeesh said.
The house has clay-tiled roofing for a major portion. But the front portion with parking facility has a concrete roof.
“It seems the concrete portion was overloaded, which might have led to the collapse. The heavy rain experienced over the past couple of days perhaps weakened the walls and caused the collapse,” Rejeesh said.
An officer with the Puthukkad fire station said, “We received a call around 6.05 am and a team of six, led by Station Officer Jojy Varghese, reached the spot immediately. Additional force from Chalakudy and Thrissur joined the rescue operation.” He said the building was already in a fragile condition and the continuous heavy rain weakened it, causing the tragedy.
District Collector Arjun Pandian, who visited the site, has ordered a probe into incident.
The collector asked the police, local body authorities, and the labour department to inspect the site and file a report. A similar direction was given to other local bodies to inspect the labour camps within their jurisdiction and check the safety and hygiene of the buildings. The local self-government director has been entrusted with the task of monitoring the process.
“Interventions have been made to transport the mortal remains of the three migrant labourers to their native places. Arrangements were also made for their relatives to accompany the body. A report will be filed to the state government to enable compensation for the families of the deceased,” the collector said.
The labour officer also reached the spot and initiated a probe into the matter, with questions arising whether the building had a fitness certificate.
Puthukkad MLA K K Ramachandran and district panchayat president V S Prince also visited the house collapse site and the hospital where the labourers were taken to.