SIVAKASI
In a tragic incident, 69 sheep and three goats were crushed to death when a long compound wall of an under-construction temple collapsed following heavy rain at Sengamalanachiyarpuram near here on Saturday.
Police said S. Murugan (39) of Gangapuram had brought the animals for grazing. Sivakasi and its surrounding areas witnessed heavy rain accompanied by thunder and lightning on Saturday evening.
Murugan guided the animals to the local Kannan Temple, which was under construction, in the evening. The 10-foot-high compound wall of the temple, running to around 50 feet, suddenly collapsed and the animals, which had huddled together near it, were crushed to death.
Revenue officials, led by Sivakasi Tahsildar R. Paramanandarajan, retrieved the carcasses after removing the debris on Sunday morning. Veterinary doctors from the Department of Animal Husbandry conducted post-mortem.
Later, the carcasses were buried in a huge pit dug on a government poramboke land, the tahsildar said.
