Eight die in TN bus stand roof collapse

Chennai, Oct 20 : Eight employees of the Tamil Nadu state transport corporation died while three were injured early on Friday when the roof of an old bus stand in Nagapattinam district collapsed, said police.

The employees were sleeping in the rest room of the Poraiyar bus stand. The injured were taken to a hospital where their condition is said to be serious.

Nagapattinam is around 320 km from here.

State Transport Minister M.R. Vijayabhaskar visited the accident spot. He told the media an inquiry has been ordered and compensation will be paid to the families of the dead.

In a statement issued here PMK founder S. Ramadoss said the party's union leaders in 2005 itself had petitioned the state transport management to repair the building as it was very old and signs of weakness were visible.

Ramadoss said the transport corporation management got its own engineers to certify that the building was in a strong condition and demanded action against these officials.

This is the second major accident in a state bus stand.

In September, four persons died and seven were injured when the concrete roof of a bus stand in Coimbatore fell on those standing beneath it.

The accident occurred at the Somanur bus stand. Coimbatore is around 500 km from here.

Chief Minister K. Palaniswami announced compensation of Rs 7.5 lakh for each of the families of those killed, Rs 1.5 lakh each for those seriously injured and Rs 50,000 for those who have suffered minor injuries.

He also said one person each from the families of those killed would be employed in the state transport corporation based on their qualification.