As many as 69 sheep and three goats were crushed to death when a 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 received 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 50 feet, suddenly collapsed and the animals, which had huddled together near it, were crushed to death.
Carcasses removed
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 Sivakasi tahsildar said.