While snuffing out three lives, the roof of the church under construction at Xavier Colony here, which crashed on Wednesday night, has brought to light the official machinery’s swift response to a disaster though it was not better positioned with adequate equipment and well-trained manpower.
The well-coordinated effort, led by Collector M. Karunakaran, demonstrated the efficiency of official machinery. Dr. Karunakaran arrived at the spot within 30 minutes of the disaster. Along with Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) T.P. Suresh Kumar, and Assistant Commissioner of Police, Palayamkottai, G.S. Madhavan, the Collector made immediate arrangements for shifting the injured to hospital.
Muslim youths from Melapalayam brought three ambulances to the spot and joined hands with the police and fire brigade in rescuing the victims. Mayor E. Bhuvaneshwari’s presence along with Commissioner R. Lakshmi and her subordinates at the site too made the task easier.
The Indian Red Cross Society volunteers, led by its State vice-president D.A. Prabhakar, also contributed effectively to make the exercise hassle-free.
