A woman and her daughter had a narrow escape when a portion of a two-storey house in Kalamassery tilted and rested on an adjacent building, following heavy rain on Friday morning.
The neighbours raised an alarm after they heard an unusual noise and found a portion of the house slanting, following which the two occupants of the house rushed out.
The inner wall of the house located on Beerankutty Road in Koonamthai crumbled, following which the building slanted. The occupants of the neighbouring house too were shifted to safety. Personnel of the Kalamassery Police and Fire and Rescue Service are camping at the site. “We have taken steps to prevent crowding at the site and to ensure the safety of people in the vicinity.It has to be seen whether the house can be restored or whether a portion will have to be fully demolished and rebuilt,” said police sources. Fire service personnel have joined in the bid to dismantle the damaged portion.
The truss and many other parts of the top floor of the house were dismantled to reduce weight. A demolition team that inspected the area said it would be tough to dismantle the house without damaging the adjacent house on which it was resting. The adjacent house too had developed cracks, said fire services personnel who visited the site.
A preliminary inspection showed that the house was built the traditional way, without the support of belt concrete or pillars, they added.
