The demolition of the fire-ravaged Chennai Silks building on Usman Road in T. Nagar was suspended on Saturday when a 22-year-old operator of a jaw-cutter machine died in an accident at the site.
One of the two jaw-cutter machines that were involved in the demolition work developed an oil leakage. G. Sarathkumar came out of his cabin and was checking the vehicle when suddenly the earth under the machine caved in to a depth of 10 feet. Realising the danger he was in, Mr. Sarathkumar started to run, but the boom of the jaw-cutter came crashing on him.
“Using an earth-mover, we pulled out the jaw-cutter from the pit and removed Mr. Sarathkumar who had been caught under,” said G. Selvakumar, Fire Officer at T.Nagar, told The Hindu.
Police rushed him to the Government Royappettah Hospital where he was declared brought dead. Senior police officials inspected the spot and conducted enquiries regarding the accident.
The management of Chennai Silks said they would give a compensation of Rs. 5 lakh to Mr. Sarathkumar’s bereaved family.
Risky operation
The demolition work had been going on for the last nine days after a major fire broke out in the building on May 31. On day two of the fire, seven floors of the building collapsed. The authorities then decided to demolish the building.
Several truck loads of construction debris were brought in and jaw-cutter machines were mounted on top of it to enable demolition from the top floor.
Last Wednesday, the demolition work was temporarily suspended when a small portion of the structure fell on the jaw-cutter machine.
