A 37-year-old man and his son were killed when a two-storey building next to their house collapsed on Wednesday night in Jogupalya, amid heavy rain.
The deceased — M. Sumbramani and his 10-year-old son — ran out of the house to safety when they heard the neighbouring building collapse, but went in again to take out a bike and a bicycle when the wall collapsed on them. Two residents of the building that collapsed – Komathi Devi (51) and her son Kiran (16) – escaped with minor injuries.
Sources say that the house is the ancestral property of the Komathi Devi and her sisters who stayed in the first and second floors earlier. They had vacated the building as it had turned unsafe.
However, Komathi Devi was adamant about residing in the building, neighbours said. An ekka tree had grown through the walls all the way up to the terrace of the 60-year-old mud-and-mortar building.
The residents refused to cut it since they considering it “sacred”.
