The toll in the collapse of an 11-storey building in Chennai has gone up to 27, a report said on Tuesday.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had on Monday announced an increase in solatium to the families of the dead belonging to Tamil Nadu by Rs 500,000 to Rs 700,000.
The under-construction residential building in Moulivakkam area in Porur collapsed on Saturday evening, trapping over 70 people.
The residential project Trust Heights was being developed by Prime Sristi Housing Pvt Ltd. The project comprised two 11-storey blocks – The Belief and The Faith.
Most of the people who were trapped under the debris are said to be construction workers and some might have taken shelter in the building as it was raining at the time of the collapse, people in the area said.
Police arrested five people, two of whom – Manoharan and his son Muthu – are the project developers and the others are engineers.
More than 15 fire tenders and 150 firefighters, National Disaster Response Force personnel and those from other state government agencies are involved in the rescue work.
Giant steel rod cutters and other equipment have been pressed into service, while sniffer dogs and sophisticated cameras are at the accident site to locate trapped people.
….IANS