Five construction workers were crushed to death when the compound wall of a private college in Coimbatore collapsed on Tuesday.
The police said a portion of the compound wall of Sri Krishna Arts and Science College at Sugunapuram on Coimbatore – Palakkad Road collapsed on top of the victims when they were working on erecting a new wall beside it. The deceased were identified as Kolli Jeganathan, 53, Nakkela Satyam, 48, and Rapaka Kannayya, 49, of Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh, and Bish Ghosh, 24, and Barun Ghosh, 28, of West Bengal.
While Kolli Jeganathan, Nakkela Satyam, Rapaka Kannayya and Bish Ghosh died on the spot, Barun Ghosh, who had sustained injuries, was rushed to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, where he died without responding to treatment.
The accident occurred around 5.30 p.m. on Tuesday. “The workers had been digging near the existing wall to construct a new compound wall. The existing wall collapsed on top of them after its base became weak,” said Coimbatore City Police Commissioner V. Balakrishnan.
The police said the contractor had dug to a depth of six feet, close to the existing wall. This had affected its stability, especially after rain.
The Fire and Rescue Services received a call at 5.45 p.m. Around 20 fire brigades from the Kovaipudur and Coimbatore South fire stations rushed to the spot, where residents of the locality had started rescue efforts.
A team led by District Fire Officer P. Annadurai, Assistant District Fire Officer P. Alagarsamy and Coimbatore South fire station officer P. Sivaraj coordinated the rescue operation. A hydraulic jack and an earthmover were used to remove the debris. K. Shanmugam, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Coimbatore South, said the police were in the process of registering a case over the death of the workers which, he said, was due to negligence.
Coimbatore Collector Kranthi Kumar Pati and Corporation Commissioner M. Prathap visited the accident site late on Tuesday.
