Three labourers killed, 11 injured in Vellore church roof collapse
Authorities plan inquiry into structural failure and whether the under-construction church had the necessary approvals
Three labourers were killed and 11 others injured after the roof of an under-construction church collapsed in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore district on Thursday, officials said.
The accident occurred at the Church of South India building in Mandi Krishnapuram near Katpadi as workers were pouring concrete for the roof slab.
A police officer said the 20-foot-high steel scaffolding and supporting framework suddenly gave way, trapping the labourers beneath concrete debris and rubble.
Personnel from the National Disaster Response Force’s Arakkonam unit joined the district administration, police and fire services in rescuing workers trapped at the construction site.
The 11 injured labourers were taken by ambulance to Vellore Government Medical College and Hospital, Christian Medical College and Hospital and a hospital in Chittoor in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.
Vellore district collector P.S. Leela Alex, who coordinated the rescue operation at the site on Thursday evening, said at least eight of the injured workers were in a stable condition.
The district administration will constitute a committee to determine the precise cause of the structural failure, she said.
The inquiry will also examine whether the builder had obtained the required approvals and permits for the church’s construction.
With PTI inputs