23 rescued after scaffolding of under-construction building collapses in Chennai

Chennai, Jul 21: At least twenty-three people were rescued after the scaffolding and iron girders of an under-construction hospital building collapsed in Chennai's Govindasamy Nagar on Saturday. More labourers are feared to be trapped.

The scaffolding was suspected to have given away due to weight and trapped some labourers after it collapsed, police said.

Commenting on the incident, disaster management commissioner Rajendra Ratnoo said, "It was a four-storey structure and the building near it suffered damage because of the collapse. So far, 23 people have been rescued. There are more than 60 police officers at the site. There are 60 members from the fire and rescue department, 30 members from the State Disaster Response Force, two units of the National Disaster Response Force and eight ambulances."

"The office of the chief minister has asked the state disaster team to monitor the situation. Rescue operations will continue till we ensure that no one is trapped inside. Investigation will be carried out to ascertain the cause of the collapse."

Rescue operations were on to ascertain if more persons were trapped, he said. Reports suggest that the injured persons could be migrant labourers. Senior government officials visited the spot.

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PTI