Three persons were killed and three others injured in Mettupalayam after a godown wall collapsed on a shed during the early hours of Tuesday following heavy rain on Monday night. The District Rural Police have charged the godown owner with negligence.
According to police sources, B. Palanisamy (42), a priest in the Kamatchi Temple on Sirumugai Road, was sleeping in a shed inside the temple with five others. The rain resulted in a portion of an adjacent godown wall collapsing on the shed.
The Mettupalayam station of Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services was informed. Two vehicles including a fire tender reached the spot immediately.
A team led by Mettupalayam Station Officer R. Palanisamy began removing the debris. S.R. Chandran, District Fire and Rescue Services Officer, Coimbatore Division, led the rescue operations.
RecoveredThe rescue personnel recovered the body of Palanisamy. He had died under the impact of the wall collapse. He had been conducting Navarathri puja with help of his brothers B. Somasundaram (38) and B. Kumar (23). While Somasundaram was rescued alive, Kumar and his relative K. Prabhakaran died on the spot.
The fire service personnel also rescued Senthil (36), a lorry driver, and Manikandan (23), both of whom were helping Palanisamy with the Navarathri puja. The entire rescue operation was completed within an hour, sources said.
All the injured were taken to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) after first aid at the Government Hospital at Mettupalayam. They are suspected to have suffered fractures in the pelvic bones besides head and chest injuries. Collector Archana Patnaik visited the injured at the hospital.
The bodies were also taken to CMCH for post-mortem. Revenue Divisional Officer V. Gunasekaran said that he would recommend compensation for the injured from the Tamil Nadu Relief Fund.
Based on a complaint by Mettupalayam Police Inspector Veerpandi, a case has been registered against Gopal, the owner of the godown.
Sections 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety) and 304 (a) (causing death of a person through rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) have been invoked. Further investigations are on.