Three persons were killed and one person was injured when the roof of a hotel at Neikarapatti on the outskirts of the city collapsed following a downpour on Saturday evening.
As the roof of Adyar Anand Bhavan on the Salem–Coimbatore national highway was about to collapse many managed to escape, but four persons were caught inside.
The police and fire and rescue services personnel rushed to the spot and rescued two of them with injuries, while two others were found dead beneath the debris.
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The victims were identified as Noorul Ameen, a customer from Erode, and Arjun of Bihar, a hotel employee.
The injured Syed Ali of Erode and Ravikumar of Rasipuram were rushed to the Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College Hospital, where the former was pronounced dead.
District Collector Rohini R. Bhajibhakare, K. Shankar, Commissioner of Police, G. Subbulakshmi, and P. Thangadurai, both Deputy Commissioners of Police, visited the spot.
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Ms. Bhajibhakare said police and revenue officials would initiate action against the hotel management for violation of norms in the construction of the building.
The hotel had not applied for building plan approval so far, the Collector said.