Zee Media Bureau/Tarun Khanna Chennai: The death toll in the 11-storey building collapse in Chennai climbed to at least 10, with over 40 people still feared trapped, as per reports on Sunday. As the rescue operation is still on, 26 people have been pulled out from the debris. To assist in the rescue work, four teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have also been sent to the spot. Out of those killed, three are women, said police. As per the NDRF team, there is no clarity on the number of people trapped inside the debris. "There is no clarity on the number of people trapped. Our initial priority is to rescue trapped people who are known to be inside. Clearing the debris is a big challenge, it would take two to three days," National Disaster Response Force DIG S P Selvan told reporters here. Meanwhile, two people from the construction company, which had taken up the housing project, have been detained. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha said, “We have directed the police to take action against those responsible for the incident.” She later announced a solatium of Rs two lakh for the kins of those killed and Rs 50,000 for the injured. On the other hand, director of Prime Sristi, which had taken up the residential project, said that thunder strike was the cause of building collapse. He further added that the installation work of the equipment to prevent the building from thunder strike was underway when the building collapsed and there were 50 workers inside the building during the mishap. According to the state authorities, the building collapsed in heavy rain at around 5 pm Saturday. The injured were rushed to Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute.
(With PTI inputs)