Three labourers were killed and 11 others injured after the roof of a church under construction collapsed in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore district on Thursday, trapping workers beneath heavy concrete debris and prompting a rescue operation involving the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), police and fire services.
The accident occurred at Mandi Krishnapuram near Katpadi while workers were pouring concrete for the roof slab of an under-construction Church of South India building. According to police, the steel scaffolding and support framework, which stood around 20 feet high, suddenly gave way, bringing down the roof slab and trapping labourers working at the site.
Emergency teams rushed to the location and began removing concrete and other debris to reach those trapped underneath. An NDRF team from Arakkonam joined personnel from the district administration, police and fire and rescue services in the operation.
Injured taken to three hospitals
Eleven injured labourers were rescued and transported by ambulance to hospitals in Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. They were admitted to Vellore Government Medical College Hospital, Christian Medical College Hospital in Vellore and a hospital in Chittoor.
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 stable condition.
Officials continued operations at the construction site to ensure that nobody remained trapped beneath the debris. The collapse left large quantities of concrete and twisted scaffolding at the site, complicating the rescue effort.
Police said preliminary information indicated that the support structure gave way while concreting of the roof was underway. Authorities, however, have yet to establish why the scaffolding failed or whether construction and safety norms were being followed at the site.
Panel to investigate collapse
The district administration will constitute a committee to investigate the structural failure, the Collector said. The inquiry will examine the exact circumstances leading to the collapse as well as the construction practices and safety arrangements at the site.
Officials will also verify whether the builder had obtained all necessary approvals and building permits for construction of the church. The investigation is expected to examine the scaffolding and support system used for the roof slab and whether it was capable of bearing the load during concreting.
The deaths have once again highlighted the risks faced by construction workers when temporary support structures fail during major concrete work. Such scaffolding and formwork are particularly critical while a roof slab is being poured because they must carry the weight of wet concrete until the structure gains sufficient strength.
Further action will be determined after the inquiry establishes whether negligence, inadequate support or violations of construction norms contributed to the collapse.