Death toll in wall collapse climbs to 28

Coimbatore, May 24 (UNI) The death toll in last night's wall collapse on the outskirts of Tiruppur mounted to 28, with one more person succumbing to his injuries at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital early today.

Twenty-seven people, mostly migrant workers, were crushed to death and seven others injured, when a 22-foot-high and 400-foot-long compound wall of a knitwear factory gave way under the impact of heavy rains and fell on the adjacent TASMAC bar, selling Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL).

The victims, all men, aged between 19 and 45 and a couple of them above 60 years, included migrant workers, supervisors at hosiery units and suppliers at the bar, police sources said.

The bar was filled with about 50 to 70 people, when a sudden downpour lashed the textile city and under its impact, the huge wall caved in and fell on the roof of the bar, bringing down the structure.

All those having liquor and taking shelter in the bar because of rains were trapped in the debris.

All the bodies were identified and handed over to the family members after post-mortems this morning, even as Chief Minister M Karunanidhi announced a solatium of Rs 50,000 each to the families of the deceased and Rs 15,000 each to the injured.

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