CHENNAI: The fire at
Chennai Silks building
in T Nagar did not have any casualties, but 10 days after the showroom was gutted and collapsed partially, a worker involved in its demolition was crushed to death after the
jaw cutter machine
he was operating fell into a crater among the debris.
Sarath Kumar, 22, of Krishnagiri was repairing the machine when it rolled into a crater around 4.15pm. Another worker, Govindan, 25, who sustained injuries is being treated at a hospital.
Police said a crater had formed among the debris and posed a huge risk to those involved in the demolition. Workers involved in the demolition said the debris had piled up higher and should have been removed. The big pile of debris had created the crater leading to the incident, a worker said. The huge machine, which Sarath Kumar was operating, moved as the debris was slippery and went crashing into the pit.
"Sarath was operating one of the excavation jaw cutter which was used to bring down the building. He was standing on the machine and checking for a leakage," said fire safety officer G Selvaraj of the
Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services
. "The machine began to move into the crater and toppled. Sarath was crushed under its weight. Our men brought him out and rushed him to the
Royapettah Government Hospital
but he was declared brought dead," he said.
Police and other fire and rescue services personnel who were on call at the accident site helped in pulling out Sarath Kumar who had by then lost a lot of blood.
The director of TN Fire and Rescue Services N Vijayakumar oversaw the operations on Saturday. After the incident, police cordoned off all roads leading to the building as a safety measure. Additional forces were deployed to stop people from entering the area.
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