The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Elderly couple killed in freak accident

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jun 17, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Elderly couple killed in freak accident

Staff Reporter

Victims sitting on balcony caught under debris after sunshade collapse

KILLER TERRACE: The remains of the collapsed building in the house in MKB Nagar on Friday. Photo: S.R.Raghunathan.

CHENNAI: An elderly couple, Hari Ram (70) and his wife Padma (62), sitting on the balcony of their house in MKB Nagar, north Chennai died when the sunshade from the terrace collapsed on them on Friday evening, police said.

The victims were living with their son, daughter and grand children.

They had moved in only three and half months before, said Upasi, granddaughter of the deceased.

"We were inside the house and my grand parents were sitting in the balcony.

All of a sudden we heard a crashing sound. When we rushed out, we saw the balcony had totally collapsed," she said. Police said the ground portion was constructed in 1988 and the first floor and terrace seven years later.

Building's condition

The couple's daughter-in-law Neha said she was aware of the building's condition and had complained to the owner about it. M. Kamalakannan, residing opposite the collapsed house said he was staying in the area for the past two years and this was the first incident of building collapse, leading to the deaths.

MKB Nagar police said had registered a case and are investigating.

The bodies of the two victims have been taken to the Stanley Medical College mortuary.

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