COIMBATORE: Two workers died in a railway parcel office collapse on Coimbatore Railway Junction premises early on Thursday morning. Another worker, grievously injured in the mishap, was undergoing treatment at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital. The building reportedly caved in under the constant battering of rain, said District Fire Officer Balasubramanian.
The deceased were identified: M Pavazhamani (50) of Thoppu Ramasamy Muthaliyar Street in Karamadai, working as a contract labourer at the cloakroom, and K Ibrahim (55), a daily wage load man from Kattur near Mettupalayam. The injured was identified as Raju Kumar (20), a native of Bihar.
Constructed in 1992, the building had a temporary steel roof. It used to serve as the cloakroom and parcel booking office. The incident took place at 3.30 am on Thursday, trapping three workers resting there. Under the constant barrage of the rains, the leaky roof dampened the building’s walls, which came crashing around 3.30 am, officials said. The workers were reportedly unaware of the danger and chose to bunk there, an official added.
In the aftermath of the cave in, locals, other workers, Railway Police Force and District Fire and Rescue personnel mounted a rescue operation. Later, Additional Divisional Railway Manager (Salem division) A Annadurai called on the victims’ family, which petitioned him seeking job opportunity and compensation.
Need attention
The parcel office had been in shambles for the past one year. “Divisional officials had assured to reconstruct the building after completion of the multi-level car parking project. The booking office has been shifted to a safer place. Similar is the state of a few other buildings in Mettupalayam and Tirupur junctions. We have asked division higher authorities to take necessary action,” the official added.
Panchayat middle school compound wall collapses
Coimbatore: The torrential rains that began battering the city on Wednesday night brought down the compound wall of Iruttupallam Panchayat Union Middle School (PUMS). In the backdrop of the downpour, teachers associations in Coimbatore urged the district authorities to declare schools closed to ensure safety of students. “The children are safe and no one was injured. We have taken steps to build a new wall,” an official said.